Technology continues to progress, and provides hope for the future of healthcare as an industry. From timely communication to faster treatment times, technology is helping to improve the entire healthcare experience for all. This is exceptionally true for its role in helping those who are residing in senior living communities. Utilizing smart technology in everyday patient care brings us closer to proactively reducing the likeliness and severity of some common age-related illnesses and injuries that compromise the quality of life.
Healthcare documentation has evolved into well-organized and easily displayed information stored in electronic tablets. The days of handwritten documentation and waiting by the telephone for answers have been replaced with instant messaging, and electronic prescriptions being sent directly from provider to pharmacy. The evolution of technology has paved the way for a more user-friendly and cost-efficient healthcare experience for all involved.
Seniors are aging at a rapid pace. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, by the year 2035, it’s anticipated that there will be more adults over the age of 65 than children under the age of 18. Technology will continue to provide efficiency in managing the growing needs of our aging population as we see rising demands for healthcare services. The development of health monitoring technology from Aspire Clinical Intelligence is exactly the step forward we need in proactively meeting this projected high demand.
Aspire Clinical Intelligence is introducing its helpful software and wearable devices to the marketplace. Aspire’s A6 Triage product line will feature these conveniences to proactively monitor and quickly address the needs of those who are aging and/or experiencing chronic and complex health conditions.
Through the use of wearable technology and remote monitoring, what if a senior could avoid the fall that caused a wound that became infected and required a leg amputation? What if we could foresee UTI risks and flag them to decrease or eliminate the risks of complications such as falls, a diagnosis of sepsis, hospitalization, and a skilled nursing rehabilitation stay? Wearable technology devices that communicate with healthcare providers in real time could make preventative health and safety resources a click away.
Proactive data presentation saves time for patients and providers.
A6 Triage’s Effective Health Record allows healthcare professionals to easily identify flagged health and safety risks like fluctuations in weight, changes in blood sugar levels, decreased heart rate, frequent falls, and wounds. It also highlights historical health information such as vitals, diagnoses, prior surgeries, hospitalizations, and other important health information. The purpose is to address and evaluate patients before their conditions increase in severity.
Aspire will be offering, as a part of its A-6 Triage line of products, a wearable device to track seniors’ vitals and monitor their movements. Healthcare staff can receive communication about patient needs in real time, whether that’s a signal to help them immediately in the event of a fall or a friendly check-in to determine the root cause of a reported change to their vitals.
A major benefit to both enhancements by Aspire is that these can be used for seniors in their chosen home or senior living community. If their condition or concern is non-emergent, it can be addressed on-site. This potentially eliminates the need for emergency off-site medical consultation.
Technology offers hope to an unbalanced number of healthcare providers.
Technology is ever-evolving and improving, but what cannot be replaced are human connection and physical care. Vacancies in healthcare positions, ranging from personal care assistants to nurses and other roles within healthcare are significant. Practices are utilizing less than the ideal number of healthcare staff to meet patient needs. Wearable devices that track vitals can decrease the number of patient contacts, and overall workload. Technology may help fill the gaps if short staffing is a root cause of undocumented vitals.
With remote tracking technology available, vitals and other health reports may not need to be taken in person as frequently. When a patient’s vitals and health details appear on the dashboard as unremarkable and stable, that frees up a healthcare professional’s time to see other patients. This provides the potential opportunity for more patients to be seen in less time, by fewer providers.
The Effective Health Record has the potential to decrease pain, the length of illnesses or treatments, and costs.
Through early identification of risks and timely diagnosis, patients may see a reduction in the severity of their conditions. In turn, they can hope for a reduction in recovery time. While this potentially gives an improved quality of life for patients, it also brings the potential of decreased costs to treat a variety of illnesses and injuries. When treatments can take place on-site and early, it eliminates the need for high-dollar ambulance rides or midnight visits to the ER. It may allow patients to utilize planned medical care and consultations, which reduce costs for all parties.
The Effective Health Record also helps providers track changes in a senior’s level of strength and mobility. If a patient presents with a high risk for falls due to diminished strength, interventions can be offered to reduce that risk. Measures can be added to reduce the severity of the injuries from the falls by introducing safety equipment or therapy to help the patient’s condition improve.
If we reduce the severity of the fall or the number of falls related to loss of strength, we could see increases in patient independence. The stronger and healthier patients are, the better their quality of life may be. This is especially true for seniors, who can experience considerable hardships when they’re faced with complex health conditions combined with limited access to frequent monitoring or care.
As Aspire Clinical Intelligence rolls out its A6 Triage line of healthcare technology, it will be introducing additional services that address the health, safety, and care needs of seniors through on-call nurses and telehealth under its A6 Clinical division. To learn more about Aspire Clinical Intelligence or the A6 Triage products, please contact us at info@aspireci.com, or 701.314.9016.