So many healthcare entrepreneurs have a story to share about a sick grandparent and how their recent experiences alerted them to certain shortcomings in the healthcare system. And although these epiphanies frequently produce good ideas for so many digital innovations (everything from remote-monitoring devices to patient-engagement tools), the amount of time given over to how each person in retirement will use the device as designed seems to vary.
At the same time, everyone recognizes that the number of people in and approaching retirement is substantial. By 2015, people aged 50 and older will make up 45 percent of the population.
StartUp Health is collaborating with AARP to give entrepreneurs greater insight into what the 50-plus population needs and wants.
AARP will sponsor the development of educational resources for entrepreneurs within StartUp Health Academy, according to a company statement. It will produce a series of industry research using StartUp Health insights about early stage innovation focused on digital health solutions for the 50-plus market. It will also include classes led by AARP experts. The sponsorship deal falls under AARP’s Innovation@50+ initiative, which aims to spark entrepreneurial activity across public and private sectors, according to the statement.
If a 50-plus-year-old were developing some of these tools, they might take their technological ability into consideration, for example. They might also consider things that wouldn’t necessarily jump out at a younger person such as improving socialization to make them feel less isolated because their movement is restricted, or they don’t have access to transportation or close friends are far away or no longer around.
There is also the fact that the population AARP represents is so large and diverse. The needs of a 50-something person may vary a great deal from those of someone in his 80s or 90s, and each person has his own set of abilities or trepidation about new technology. My 80-year-old mom, for example, was delighted to get an iPhone upgrade recently and can’t wait to start downloading apps; but at the same time, she doesn’t find it easy to do an Internet search.
In an interview last year with Jim Osborn, executive director of the Quality of Life Technology Center at Carnegie Mellon University, he said on the subject of designing healthcare solutions for an aging population:
A Deep-dive Into Specialty Pharma
A specialty drug is a class of prescription medications used to treat complex, chronic or rare medical conditions. Although this classification was originally intended to define the treatment of rare, also termed “orphan” diseases, affecting fewer than 200,000 people in the US, more recently, specialty drugs have emerged as the cornerstone of treatment for chronic and complex diseases such as cancer, autoimmune conditions, diabetes, hepatitis C, and HIV/AIDS.
“There’s likely no single technology that every senior is going to want. But it is probably safe to say that most will value technologies that enable them to preserve their ability to take care of themselves, live where and how they choose, and manage their own affairs.”
[Photo credit: Target from BigStock Photo]
