Technology's Success Depends on Informed Caregivers

Technology in caregiving is no longer a secret as systems proliferate at Silvers Summit Exhibition.

When technology comes into play with an elder and their family, and the data starts to flow, it is often quickly apparent that the family is sorely lacking in basic knowledge about their elder's health status. To assure that the technology is effective it is imperative that prior to its use, the elder's basic health information be collected, stored and easily accessible to the family caregivers, in a secure repository and with the ability to communicate it to others who also provide care to the elder.

The most advanced indicators and gages on the dashboard of a car need to be read, and the implications understood, by the driver, to be of any value. It is the same in the case of TeleHealth. Is the detection of a blood pressure spike being caused by a physiological change or is it due to non-compliance with the medication regimen. the primary caregiver, most often a family member, must know what the medication regimen is before they can make an effective decision about whether to call the doctor or see that the elder complies with the medication plan to correct the issue. this is just one small example of an elder's information that must e part of any caregiver's knowledge base if the technology is to be effective.

The strongest and most advanced building cannot be built on a weak foundation and be expected to stand the test of time. It is also true that best caregiving technology will only succeed when it is providing data to those with a foundation of knowledge and understanding of the patient.

What is being done to help to see that the users of technology have the solid foundation needed to assure that the systems will stand the test and become the great long term benefit they are capable of being? Not much I am afraid. A lot of attention is being paid to the process of collecting and sending data with too little attention being paid to seeing that the information can be used effectively by the recipients.

Let us not have TeleHealth and the other caregiving technologies become the clocks on VCRs blinking 12:00 AM until the best solution is to put black tape over it and pay no attention at all to what it is trying to tell us.

The ElderIssues LifeLedger has, from its inception, has always been aimed at assisting caregivers in gathering, storing and communicating with elder's status. With this information available caregivers will be able to act effectively and efficiently, making the elder safer and more independent while also making the caregiver's own life less stressful.

The goal is better care, not just better technology.