Technology and Caregiving: Making Life a Little Saner

Lara EdgeSenja Consulting

June 28, 2013Family Caregiver Alliance®Young Caregiver Respite Retreat

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About MeSenja 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

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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

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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

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Types of Technology• There are four main types of caregiving

technologies:1. Medical devices2. Assistive technology3. Web-based tools4. Social tools

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Where My Family Started

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

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In the Beginning: Conference Calls• How?– Simple 3-way calling–Conference call number• Free Conference Calling and

FreeConferenceCall.com–Web-based• Skype• Google Hangout

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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

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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

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In the Beginning: PERS, cont’d1. 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

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Examples of PERS

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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)

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Moving to the Next Stage (and Place)

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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 Aging1. It can help senior live independently longer.2. 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

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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

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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

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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)

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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

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Key Family Management Tools

Famjama (www.famjama.com)

Calendar, notes, to-do lists, personal profiles, coupon integration. PC Mag editor’s choice for family management in 2012

No document storage or bill paying

Doxo (www.doxo.com) Document management: cloud storage, bill paying

No calendar or detailed personal profiles

AboutOne (www.aboutone.com)

Document management, focus on medical

No calendar

Cozi(www.cozi.com)

Similar to Famjama (without coupons)

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Web-Based Tools• Mobile apps– Iphone search: “caregiving” = 19 results,

“caregiver” = 173 results– Android search: “caregiving/caregiver” = 302

• Social media– Facebook– LinkedIn

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Final Life Stage (and Place)

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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

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Sources1. National Alliance for Caregiving, Caregiving

in the U.S., http://www.caregiving.org/data/Caregiving_in_the_US_2009_full_report.pdf , November 2009

2. Medicare.gov, http://www.medicare.gov/coverage/durable-medical-equipment-coverage.html

3. “Emergency hospitalizations for adverse drug events in older Americans,” The New England Journal of Medicine, Nov. 24, 2011

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Contact MeLara EdgeSenja Consulting415-484-8533Lara.Edge@senjaconsulting.comwww.senjaconsulting.com

I’d love to hear from you!