Nowadays, there are 6 million Americans living with Alzheimer’s disease and according to statistics provided by Alzheimer’s Association 10-15% of seniors with mild cognitive impairment are going to develop Alzheimer’s disease in a year. COVID-19 was one of the factors contributing to the deaths among Alzheimer’s patients. One of the ways to manage the disease and stop its progression is to use telehealth and remote patient monitoring to provide continuous care to seniors affected. This type of care has many benefits for both patients and caregivers. This blog post will explore how remote patient monitoring is changing the landscape of home health senior care for Alzheimer’s patients, families and healthcare providers.
Keeping Alzheimer’s patients at home
Telehealth and remote patient monitoring give an opportunity to seniors with Alzheimer’s and other chronic conditions to age in place. The statistics shows that 90% of American seniors prefer to stay at home longer without being placed in long-term care.
Telehealth allows patients to receive quality care at home without being exposed to an unfamiliar environment triggering symptoms of anxiety, confusion, agitation and other uncontrollable reactions. It also helps to keep under control wandering which is an extremely common symptom of Alzheimer’s and can often lead to a patient being in a dangerous situation. Remote patient monitoring allows caregivers to keep track of their loved ones’ whereabouts and ensure that they are safe by instating a geo-fence on their website or app to reduce and avoid any possible wandering episodes. The medication reminders and wandering tracking provides safety to seniors and peace of mind to their families.
Reducing the stress of family members
The benefits of telemedicine include assisting both parties involved; the patient gets relief while also providing some measure against caregiver burnout. Those caring for patients with Alzheimer’s often experience a lot of stress, leading them to feel adverse physical, psychological, social, and spiritual outcomes that may affect them in their day-to-day lives. These may include feelings of isolation and guilt because they cannot help their loved ones through every thick and thin. Telehealth gives a chance to the caregivers to feel less worried about the wellbeing of their loved ones with notification and alerts that they are getting in case of emergencies. There are many resources available online for Alzheimer’s caregivers to relieve their stress, better understand, communicate and address the behavior of Alzheimer’s patients. Some of the educational programs and trainings to improve the behavior management of Alzheimer’s patients are provided by Alzheimer’s Association and Alzheimer’s Disease Caregiver Support Initiative.
Improving health care delivery
The growing demand for Alzheimer’s treatment puts a burden on the healthcare system. In 2020 the cost of care for patients with Alzheimer’s and other dementias was $305 billion and it’s expected to rise to $1.2 trillion by 2050. Most of the care cost is incurred by skilled nursing care, home healthcare, and hospice care. Alzheimer’s compared to other chronic conditions also results in high hospitalization cases which are 3 times more likely. Telehealth allows healthcare providers to easily monitor patients and offer treatments based on their unique needs. The videoconferencing is often used for neurocognitive testing and neurological examinations to measure the brain function and a possible decline of a patient. Telehealth gives an opportunity to provide closer examination of a patient by different specialists. It also provides a clearer understanding of the challenges that patients face at home, which can be critical in helping to manage this progressive chronic condition. Usually the ongoing follow-up is required to adjust the treatment due to the disease progression, declining mobility, increasing disorientation and other symptoms that may occur.
The potential benefits of telehealth for those living with Alzheimer’s are clear, and we are confident that more people will see the value in this type of senior care. With the proper support, telehealth and remote patient monitoring can potentially change lives for patients, providers, and caregivers alike.
About our SenSights Care Solution
Our SenSights Care Tablet Solution makes monitoring seniors and patients with chronic conditions like Alzheimer’s, Dementia, Falling, Wandering, Diabetes, COPD/CHF and other illnesses effortless and convenient. The use of audio, video and text communication via phone and popular social media platforms (WhatsApp, Instagram, Facebook, Youtube) would help seniors to be constantly connected to the 24/7 nurse help desk in the region. The SenSights Care app is also integrated with GPS watches that make it easier than ever to monitor patients’ movements and create geo-fences for seniors with Alzheimer’s and dementia.
The Touchless Camera-Free Fall Detection sensor(s) connected to the SenSights Care app would notify the nurse desk if the fall occurred, so they can provide timely help to the patient. Contactless Wellness Monitoring is also available for seniors via Veyetals app embedded in SenSights Care Solution. So, forgetting to put on wearables for health monitoring is not an issue anymore. The main indicators that are tracked include Falls, Activity, Ambient Sensing, Geolocation, Steps, Heart Rate, Heart Rate Variability, Respiration Level, Temperature, Blood Pressure and Blood Glucose. The family members and doctors could also be added to the circle of care and receive medical alerts in case of health deterioration or emergency. The remote health monitoring is secure, HIPAA compliant and Ontario verified.
In the near future, the voice enabled assistant and memory games will be available in the app to help seniors improve their mental health and provide convenience.
About SenSights.AI
We are a North American-based startup that provides comprehensive capabilities for home care organizations to manage their senior care services using state-of-art AI and 5G technologies and allow for a greater independence. We are uniquely positioned as we are the only one with a combination of
- Ambient or touchless fall detection
- Device-less or contactless wellness monitoring
- Comprehensive Mobile, Tablet and Web Solution for Seniors, Caregivers and Agency
- Complete Out of box Telehealth and TeleMedicine Platform with integration with over 15+ smart devices and several leading EMRs/EHRs like PointClick Care, Cerner and many more in pipeline
- Over 40+ Data Scientists, Engineers and Medical Advisors to help integrate and improve digital transformation journey of our client with services, products and platform focused on senior market
We provide the best in class health platform for patient engagement, remote monitoring and virtual care. Patients are guided on smartphones, tablets and computers from preparation through recovery with the help of reminders, education and activity tracking. Providers can receive alerts, monitor patients and access analytics to deliver better care. Health systems use SenSights Care to improve patient satisfaction while reducing hospital length of stay, readmissions, and costs.
We would like to work with you to help you grow your business with our unique business model of sharing revenue with healthcare providers.
Book a consultation today to see how can help digitally transform your healthcare organization at https://sensights.ai/contact-us/
Learn more about our SenSights Care Solution on http://sensightscare.com/