Health IT

41 percent of caregivers use some digital health device to provide care

Digital health may be a compelling market, especially the use of digital devices by caregivers […]

Digital health may be a compelling market, especially the use of digital devices by caregivers looking after some of the seniors that will make up 42 percent of the population next year. But it remains a fragmented market. A report this week by Parks Associates surveyed 10,00 heads of households to gauge their use and interest in digital health. About 22 percent of respondents described themselves as or current or future caregivers.

41 percent of home caregivers say they use some form of digital health device. In an indication that the simplest solutions are the most popular, 17 percent of caregivers said they favored a device that lets individuals push a button if they need emergency assistance. The devices inspired the most interest in 44 percent of current and future caregivers.  An electronic watch that could detect fall, electronic pill boxes to remind people to take their meds and record it, and remote monitoring are a few other areas of interest for this group.

They’re also interested in a GPS device that lets them track seniors from their smartphones and online tools that coordinate care. Electronic sensors are also an area of interest. Companies such as Atlas5D have developed a fairly high tech but less invasive approach for remote monitoring to detect falls faster. A report by Berg Insights published earlier this year showed that 19 million will use remote monitoring by 2018.

Devices to minimize the risk of falls have been an area of interest for digital health companies. Active Protective developed a prototype for micro airbags. The idea is that a sensor detects when someone is falling and deploys the airbags in an area to prevent people from breaking their hips.

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