Health Care Quarterly:

Do seniors want FaceTime or face-to-face time when it comes to health care?

Nearly 120 million Americans will be 65 or older by 2020. And according to the AARP, 90 percent want to spend their golden years in their own homes versus moving in with their children or transitioning to assisted living communities. This trend is known as “aging in place” and it’s becoming increasingly possible, in part, because of technology.

Smart home solutions, telehealth and remote patient monitoring have made aging in place an easier and more realistic option for seniors and a recent study conducted by Pew Research Center states seniors are more digitally connected than ever before.

Defining Telehealth and Its Role in Aging in Place

Telehealth is largely facilitated as a real-time patient-to-physician consultation via video. It’s interactive, secure and ultimately saves patients time and money. The University of California conducted a 20-year study on telemedicine and found telemedicine visits saved patients approximately nine years of travel time, five million miles and $3 million in costs.

Remote patient monitoring is another component of telehealth that’s transforming patient care. It uses mobile technology for the real-time collection and transfer of a patient’s medical data to a health care professional for analysis. Time is of the essence when it comes to patient outcomes. This can be useful for diagnoses, as well as making alterations throughout the course of treatment. This can be especially useful for patients making medication changes, as they’ll be able to report any side effects and adjust quickly if need be.

Half of Baby Boomers take heart medications, while one in five battle diabetes. The need for constant care and monitoring places health care organizations under greater pressure, while contributing to higher costs for those who make constant trips to the doctor. Remote patient monitoring provides a logical answer to this challenging scenario.

Cox and Connected Independence

Cox Communications of Las Vegas partnered with Los Angeles-based homebuilder KB Home to showcase what telehealth could look like in this new era of digital living for seniors aging in place. Cox installed more than 50 smart devices in a single-story Desert Mesa community model home located in North Las Vegas. In addition to facilitating video consultation with a physician, these devices could monitor, send blood pressure, heart rate, oxygen readings and other information to a doctor via the internet. The home also included room sensors that notified emergency contacts if the homeowner or an occupant of the home fell. This is an important feature not only for aging in place seniors, but for caregivers as well.

Cox, with the acquisition of Trapollo – a telehealth company – has begun focusing more on connected independence and how innovative telehealth technology could be used in practical ways for aging in place seniors, caregivers and healthcare providers.

“Smart home technology can help families avoid the wrenching decision and the expense of moving an aging parent to an assisted living facility,” said Mike Braham, vice president and general manager of Trapollo. “A connected home ensures seniors can continue their daily routine while maintaining – and even enhancing – their quality of life in their own home.”

According to a study conducted by Foley and Lardner, 90 percent of healthcare professionals report that their organizations have begun developing or implementing a telemedicine program.

Cox Communications will be demonstrating Trapollo and its remote patient monitoring capabilities at more Cox Smart Home one-day open houses across the country through the end of 2018.

When factoring in the convenience, comfort and overall improvement to the patient experience telehealth offers, seniors and many others agree FaceTiming your doctor may be a better alternative to actual face-to-face time.

Mike Braham is the vice president & general manager of Trapollo

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