Mobile Devices are Reshaping e-Care Services in Care Homes

High tech only work is high touch exists in the first place.

High tech only works if high touch exists in the first place

With mobile devices evolving rapidly, they have become a vital tool helping family caregivers provide care to a love one. For example, smartphones are now being used by professionals and family caregivers alike to help improve the monitoring of of seniors to ensure they are safe. In this article, we highlight how mobile devices are and will continue to reshape the current e-care services and how it will help drive future of e-care services.


Mobile devices supported by the Government

In the United Kingdom, mobile companies, network providers, and government agencies are working closely in providing eHealth assistance to professionals to improve patient care. An example of this is the campaign by the U.K. O2 and the National Health Services (NHS) wherein they offer health organizations a unified communication platform where they can simplify their processes. The platform also aids in improving internal and external communications of personnel and patients, and improves the cost of technological and electronic bills of the public and private sectors. In terms of long term care facilities, social workers, nurses, clinicians, and doctors will be equipped with mobile devices that allows them to connect with their patients in real-time, giving patients, even those residing in far away places immediate medical assistance from professionals via voice or video calls. This is a big improvement that is highly necessary to revolutionise the current health care sector.

In the U.S., even today among major medical organizations like Mayo Clinic, patients are required to send them medical records via FAX or U.S. mail. Email is not an option even though HIPPA guidelines specifically provide for it. FAX and the U.S. mail is much more prone to data breach than email send via servers with 128 SSL encryption technology (a standard).

What is needed from mobile devices?

Although there is a wide selection of mobile devices on the market, not all cellphones can be effective in this process. It requires powerful smartphones in order to competently run apps, take and receive video calls clearly, and access files necessary to assist patients immediately. There are smartphones that can process requests faster, similar to a PC, such as the iPhone 6 Plus which sports a large 5.5-inch screen with powerful 64-bit processing power that is energy-efficient even when running multiple apps at the same time. With the new iOS soon to be released, it will be even faster and more versatile. With the handset, social workers and clinicians will be able to load up files without any lag. It also comes with Apple Pay, which allows a person to make purchases online or pay at many drug stores using their smartphones.

Benefits of smartphones in family caregiving

Many families are spread out and may not live near a loved one. That’s why certain apps and web portals can provide a central location for a caregiver (and other family members) to provide and view the care that a loved one is getting. Their are also new services to audit the care a loved one is getting at home or in a facility. This data is presented via a secure web portal for family members. In this way, they know the status of care a loved one is receiving.

About the author
TechCares has been following the latest trends in health and technology. Her previous blog posts are also highly related to mobile technology, digital health, and electronic hospitals. She will be more actively in search on her upcoming website. Watch out for it!

Further Reading: 

How Technology Helps Aging Parents Stay in Their Home

5 Ways New Technology is Helping Seniors

Resolving Mobility Impairment Issues with a "Smart Home"

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About The CareGiver Partnership. The CareGiver Partnership helps caregivers and their loved ones with answers to their caregiving questions, including information about home health care products and supplies, from our Wisconsin-based team of Product Specialists who are all current or former caregivers. The company’s Web site provides the largest online library of resources on subjects most important to caregivers — from arthritis to assisted living, and Parkinson’s to prostate cancer — as well as access to more than 3,000 home care products for incontinence, skin care, mobility, home safety and daily living aids. The CareGiver Partnership was founded in 2004 by Lynn Wilson of Neenah, Wisc. Visit http://www.caregiverpartnership.com to learn more or call 1-800-985-1353.

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