3 Ways Remote Monitoring Is Transforming Elderly Care

Key Takeaways

• Elderly need to be monitored continuously, hence wearables in remote monitoring solutions keep track of vitals, fitness routine, and lifestyle.
• Over 79 percent of the elderly population is living with at least one chronic condition. Remote monitoring platforms tackle chronic diseases with solutions such as timely medications, emergency alerts, and diabetic checkers.
• AI-enabled remote monitoring analyzes data and aids with predictive analytics, early disease detection, and personalized treatment plans for elderly patients.

The pandemic accelerated advances in remote monitoring solutions for elderly care because they were the most vulnerable to infection and protecting them took the top priority. With 95 percent of the older population affected with at least one chronic condition, the risk of catching Covid-19 was much higher.

Even today’s date, remote monitoring solutions are an option for the geriatric population due to their wide array of features such as vital tracking, diet and medication management, alerts, and emergency contact numbers.

The elderly require constant care and attention, but it is not possible to sit with them 24/7, so devices such as remote monitoring help to keep a watchful eye on them. These devices continuously send data to the physicians in charge of the elderly, so they can immediately act in case of an emergency. This was a gist of the remote monitoring solutions for the elderly, now let’s look at the type of solutions in-depth.

1. Integration of Wearables in Remote Monitoring

Senior citizens living independently need technology like wearable devices that can monitor them continuously. In 2021, Aloe Care Health integrated BioIntelliSense’s RPM wearable device into its caregiver support platform. It ensures full-service RPM and care for independent elderly patients.

Family members and healthcare providers can use wearable technology like smartwatches to monitor the health of the elderly. Medical staff can acquire patient data from wearables and analyze it for further treatment plans.

As per a study published on the NCOA, around 3 million adults who are 65 and above are treated in emergency departments for unintentional fall injuries every year. With medical alerts sent by a wearable device, medical staff and family members can quickly send help during such situations.

Senior citizens require certain fitness regimes to overcome their physical challenges and sedentary lifestyles. Integration of wearables in remote monitoring can encourage the elderly to take up a fitness routine. For example, a step tracker can help people measure physical fitness and how many calories are burnt each day. The physicians can further use this data to analyze how fitness affects the patients’ sleep cycles, blood pressure, and oxygen levels.

Furthermore, vital data can also aid with personalizing fitness routines, for instance, if the target heart rate is 113 and the patient’s has risen to 130, then physicians can suggest a few alternative exercises to maintain the heart rate. A personalized fitness routine can help the elderly to stay safe from issues such as fainting or chest pains.

2. Remote Monitoring for Chronic Diseases

A study suggests that 79 percent of people above age 70 have at least one of the seven chronic diseases – hypertension, arthritis, heart disease, respiratory diseases, diabetes, cancer, and stroke. Out of the lot, 60 to 70 percent of the older population suffer from high blood pressure. Chronic diseases pose multiple challenges to family members, physicians, and healthcare organizations.

Treatment of chronic diseases in the elderly is complicated due to their fragile state, they’ve lost the ability to fight the disorders on their own. So, they must be medicated and monitored around the clock. Senior citizens may find it difficult to remember medications, diet, and treatment regimes, the reasons being degenerative diseases like dementia.

To encounter such issues remote monitoring solutions for chronic diseases are being introduced. These solutions include features such as medication reminders, vital checkers, SOS alerts, diabetic checkers, and more for elderly care. For example, CareSpan Health, Inc., a provider of the ‘Clinic-in-the-Cloud’ platform has launched its new remote monitoring solution service. This solution addresses issues such as the shortage of primary caregivers in the USA; and ameliorating the delivery of urgent, chronic, and mental health care.

3. AI-Enabled Remote Monitoring for the Elderly

When integrated with remote monitoring platforms, AI algorithms analyze vast patient data from wearables, sensors, or remote monitoring apps. This analyzed data is further used for other purposes such as:

1. Early Disease Detection: AI-enabled remote monitoring solutions collect real-time data and detect even slight deviations. This allows physicians to note early signs of fatal or chronic diseases in patients.
2.  Personalized Treatment: Data analysis confirms the sleep patterns, diet, and lifestyle choices of patients. This helps to generate personalized treatment plans that may help to reduce the risks of contracting diseases or control chronic conditions in patients.
3. Predictive Analytics: AI analyzes data and groups patients into risk categories based on their likelihood of experiencing an adverse event. This stratification allows healthcare providers to distribute resources and intervene whenever necessary. AI creates alerts and notifications for healthcare providers when it finds patterns suggestive of possible health decline. These notifications trigger immediate actions to stop or lessen negative effects.

Recently, NeuroRPM, an AI-powered app was designed to continuously monitor symptoms of Parkinson’s disease and is cleared for use by the FDA. This app runs on the Apple Watch and provides an easy way to continuously monitor health metrics for Parkinson’s disease. This AI-driven monitoring solution is likely to regulate health care for the elderly suffering from Parkinson’s disease.

Wrapping Up

Remote monitoring solutions provide remote check-ins on senior citizens without compromising their independence. To identify the best tools and services, working with the individual and their care team is critical, as everybody has distinct preferences and concerns.

If you’re looking for a remote monitoring solution for your organization, connect with Arkenea. We also offer a range of healthcare software solutions such as practice management, telemedicine, EHR, medical billing, and more. With over 14 years of experience in the field, our team of expert developers delivers world-class software solutions that match industry standards.