From the mHealthNews archive
We tend to think that older people are not using mobile technology. And for the most part, that’s true.
A recent survey by the Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project found that 34 percent of Americans now own tablets, but half of them fall into the 35-44 age bracket. Only only 18 percent of Americans over the age of 65 have tablets.
Laurie Orlov, the founder of Aging in Place Technology Watch, believes that trend will change. “At some point over the next five years, Medicare will start reimbursing for remote management technology,” she said, and that will facilitate the expansion of telehealth opportunities and, by extension, the opportunities for caregivers to provide care to seniors who want to remain in their homes.
On Wednesday, December 11, from 1:15-2:15 p.m. at the HIMSS Media mHealth Summit at the Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center near Washington, D.C., Orlov will be discussing both the potential and the hurdles for mHealth and older populations as part of the session titled "HITECH Meets Low-Tech."
[Learn More: HITECH Meets Low-Tech]
Mobile communication devices take a variety of forms, and in her work Orlov has looked beyond tablets and smartphones to other changes in the health IT market. One of her recent reports, for example, looked at the changing circumstances surrounding the use of personal emergency response systems (PERS).
While these systems tend to be used by older women who are living alone and worried about falling, Orlov suggested that “technology change, additional services and new entrants will expand this traditional base of users from today’s population to a younger and more mobile group (who are) interested in being out and about (and are) willing and motivated to monitor chronic disease status and/or patterns of behavioral change that could signal decline or onset of health issues.”
More information on the HITECH Meets Low-Tech session can be found at http://www.mhealthsummit.org/program-details/overview.
