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Technology and Caregiving: Making Life a Little Saner

Technology and Caregiving: Making Life a Little Saner. Lara Edge Senja Consulting June 28, 2013 Family Caregiver Alliance® Young Caregiver Respite Retreat. About Me. Senja provides Golden Years Life Plans that include education, cost estimates, how to's, tips and referrals.

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Technology and Caregiving: Making Life a Little Saner

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  1. Technology and Caregiving: Making Life a Little Saner Lara Edge Senja Consulting June 28, 2013 Family Caregiver Alliance® Young Caregiver Respite Retreat

  2. About Me Senja provides Golden Years Life Plans that include education, cost estimates, how to's, tips and referrals. Who I Work With: • Gen-Xers and Baby Boomers • Planning for or starting to care for aging loved ones Benefits: • Reduce stress and confusion around health care decisions • Illuminate the intricacies of senior care • Limit time researching while providing more time with loved ones • Reduce overall expenses by pre-planning • Foster an open dialogue about growing older

  3. Disclaimers • I do not represent any of the companies listed in the presentation, nor am I compensated for mentioning them • Always conduct thorough research before buying a product • Remember that the Better Business Bureau (www.bbb.org) is a great resources

  4. Why Are We Talking About This? • 57% of caregivers are currently employed1 • Nearly half of them are working full time (46%)1 • People are living longer with more chronic illness • Families are more complex than ever before • Step-families • Non-traditional roles • Distance

  5. Types of Technology • There are four main types of caregiving technologies: • Medical devices • Assistive technology • Web-based tools • Social tools

  6. Where My Family Started

  7. In the Beginning • Conference Calls • Regularly scheduledon our e-calendars • Agenda created ahead of time • Next steps identified at the end of each call • Deadlines assigned for next steps

  8. In the Beginning: Conference Calls • How? • Simple 3-way calling • Conference call number • Free Conference Calling and FreeConferenceCall.com • Web-based • Skype • Google Hangout

  9. In the Beginning: E-Organizing • Gathering and keeping track of paperwork, doctors’ information, appointments and expenses • Google Sites • Create a hub for family members to add documents • Pros: Easy, free, most people have a Gmail account • Cons: Security/privacy, no custom access settings, create site specific to your use

  10. In the Beginning: PERS • Personal Emergency Response Systems • Scams • Cancellation policy • Set up cost, monthly rate, additional fees • Detection zone (how many feet from base) • Fall detection • Service hours • Call center information • Waterproof

  11. In the Beginning: PERS, cont’d 1. Traditional Land-Line • Generally pendant or wrist monitor, professional monitoring, base unit • Alert1 (www.alert-1.com) • Philips Lifeline ( www.lifelinesys.com) • LifeAlert (www.lifealert.com) 2. Cellular-based • Generally pendant for keys or neck, GPS, professional monitoring • LifeTrac (www.lifetrac.com): geo-fencing, doubles as cell phone, easy to use • Greatcall 5Star (www.greatcall.com): one panic button

  12. Examples of PERS

  13. The Next Stage: Fire Safety • Loss of hearing and sense of smell = danger! • Consider fire alarms with strobes • Leaving the stove on is a major concern for seniors living on their own, especially those with memory problems • CookStop (www.cookstop.com) • Stove Guard (www.stoveguardintl.com)

  14. Moving to the Next Stage (and Place)

  15. The Next Stage: Assistive Technology • Definition: Any service or tool which can help an older person or a person with a disability perform activities that might otherwise be difficult or not be possible. --Administration on Aging • It can help senior live independently longer. • May be critical to day-to-day functioning • Medicare Part B (Medical Insurance) covers durable medical equipment (DME) that your doctor prescribes for use in your home. Only your doctor can prescribe medical equipment for you. Generally up to 80% will be covered if the DME meets these criteria: • Durable (long-lasting) • Used for a medical reason • Not usually useful to someone who isn't sick or injured • Used in your home

  16. Assistive Technology: What’s Covered2 • Air-fluidized beds • Blood sugar monitors and diabetic testing strips • Canes (however, white canes for the blind aren't covered) • Commode chairs • Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP) machine • Crutches • Home oxygen equipment and supplies • Hospital beds • Infusion pumps (and some medicines used in infusion pumps if considered reasonable and necessary) • Nebulizers (and some medicines used in nebulizers if considered reasonable and necessary) • Patient lifts (to lift patients from bed or wheelchair by hydraulic operation) • Suction pumps • Traction equipment • Walkers • Wheelchairs

  17. The Next Stage: Remote Monitoring • Combination communication and monitoring services • Generally include sensors and a computer with limited functionality located at care recipient’s home • FamilyLink (www.familylink.net) Email, photo sharing, video chatting, activity level alerts • Grand Care Systems (www.grandcare.com)Same as above, includes medication management • Remote monitoring • BeClose System (www.beclose.com): Sensors on door, bed, chairs, toilet, water, panic button

  18. The Next Stage: Medication Management • Nearly 100,000 people aged 65+ go to the emergency room each year for drug related issues3 • Nearly 2/3rds are because of unintentional overdoses3 • Generally not covered by Medicare with the exception of some Alzheimer's cases • 1. Electronic pill dispensers • 2. Monitored electronic pill dispensers • Medminder (www.medminder.com) • TabSafe (www.tabsafe.com)

  19. The Next Stage: Coordinating Care • New category of online family management tools (like a personal intranet) • One-stop online for organizing the family • Each member of the family has a profile • Most available as integrated Web and mobile apps • Generally feature proprietary messaging system

  20. Key Family Management Tools

  21. Web-Based Tools • Mobile apps • Iphone search: “caregiving” = 19 results, “caregiver” = 173 results • Android search: “caregiving/caregiver” = 302 • Social media • Facebook • LinkedIn

  22. Final Life Stage (and Place)

  23. Final Life Stage • Remotely controlling the computer • Troubleshooting problems, adding software, etc. • Teamviewer (www.teamviewer.com) • LogMeIn (www.logmein.com) • GoToMyPC by Citrix (www.gotomypc.com) • Phones • Photo memory • Big button • Call buttons

  24. Sources • National Alliance for Caregiving, Caregiving in the U.S., http://www.caregiving.org/data/Caregiving_in_the_US_2009_full_report.pdf , November 2009 • Medicare.gov, http://www.medicare.gov/coverage/durable-medical-equipment-coverage.html • “Emergency hospitalizations for adverse drug events in older Americans,” The New England Journal of Medicine, Nov. 24, 2011

  25. Contact Me Lara Edge Senja Consulting 415-484-8533 Lara.Edge@senjaconsulting.com www.senjaconsulting.com I’d love to hear from you!

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