Wondering what interactive technology for aged care actually works? what is used by residents and delivers real value? With the average person over 65 spending approximately 5.8 hours per day watching television, it remains the most popular choice of entertainment and technology for the Silver Generation and Baby Boomers. In fact, people over 65 engage with the Television almost seven times more than any other technology. People aged 65 and above find the television easier to deal with because it provides both the visual and auditory information, in a large form factor and with great sound quality. Other studies suggest that watching television promotes an ongoing sense of social participation and combat feelings of alienation and loneliness.
As interactive technology for aged care continues to evolve, new developments are constantly changing the way people live their lives. Traditional television sets are rapidly being replaced with Smart TVs which are essentially TVs that are integrated with the Internet and have a range of interactive features. In the healthcare industry, the CareVision Smart Television provides a breakthrough in engaging care recipients, gathering patient information, assisting with treatment and medication management, and improving communication and socialisation. Alert notifications like carer visits, daily reminders for medication or grocery lists, photos and videos from family and friends can be sent through to the care recipient without interrupting his or her favourite movie or news channel.
Aged Care organisations that invest in interactive technology such as the CareVision platform will have a considerable competitive edge. Here are some examples of the benefits of interactive smart TV and integrated care technology for care providers:
Market Positioning: ‘Superior Quality Aged Care Operator’
Research by CareVision indicates that care providers that integrate interactive technology in the core of their operations, service delivery and patient experience are perceived as ‘superior operators’ in the market by care recipients and their families. Consumers want technology that puts the care recipient front and centre, keeps the family up to date in real time, empowers the care recipient with choice, the opportunity to book services on demand and provide real-time feedback.
The CareVision Smart Television platform engages the care recipient like no other platform, empowering them with choice and control, generates valuable information from their normal use and interactions that can be shared with the family. Passive monitoring combined with micro-surveys and built in community nurturing result in more informed families, happier residents and better business decision making.
Improved Health Outcomes: From Socialisation to Medication Compliance
Aged Care operators will need to provide more than basic health care, they will need to cater to the whole spectrum of physical health, emotional health, well-being and spiritual health. Social Isolation and boredom are areas that result in significant physical and emotional health issues, from increased incidence of dementia and falls, through to depression and longer recovery times. With limited resources and the need to operate more efficiently under new funding models, Smart TV technology offers a way to achieve socialisation, entertainment, and daily living activity reminders for improved health outcomes without requiring additional staff time.
CareVision offers a range of modules supporting improved health outcomes, from built in nurturing of family and friends engagement with the care recipient, to intra-community trivia competitions, to member profiles, monthly movie collection and games. The Personalised family albums for each individual are successfully being used in Care Organsiations to help reduce anxiety and aggression of residents, paired with calming music they can help bring back positive and happy memories.
Real-time patient monitoring, reminders and alerts for medication and daily living activities, and health status updates significantly reduce unnecessary doctor’s visits. The CareVision Smart TV also serves as a preventive tool that encourages care recipients to be more aware of their health and avoid getting sick, therefore cutting down hospital stays or readmissions, and maintaining their independence for longer.
Operational Efficiency: Do More with Less
With changing funding models and the imperative to do more with current resources or in some cases with fewer resources, integrating interactive technology into the core of your operations, service delivery and patient experience is an imperative.
CareVision Smart Television empowers your care recipients to contribute to the collection of information with micro surveys and passive monitoring. This information can be shared with family as part of the daily updates, improving the communication and exchange of information with families, and reducing the amount of time spent fielding calls from families looking for updates about their loved ones, or to pass on messages.
With CareVision you have the ability to share an event held in one village or facility, with other sites, or people living in their own home allowing more frequent entertainment and a wider collection of entertainment options. Share events held on site with the community at large through the CareVision live streaming module, providing social support and entertainment for your whole community.
Opportunity for Growth: Increased Service Bookings and Demand Driven Service Offerings
Research suggests that people over 65 are less likely to ask for help or seek our support services if they are required to call someone or use the telephone. There are some theories as to why this is, from the difficulty of making a phone call due to poor hearing, not wanting to bother others, and not knowing who to call. In severe cases, this results in the older person going without, and their health and wellbeing deteriorating significantly as a result.
One approach to increasing service bookings is making the booking process more accessible using the SmartTV. For people over 65, that are less likely to use computers or surf the internet, the Television is a primary source of information and a prompt to action. Care Providers can embrace this with the CareVision Television platform, not only making their services available on the television for booking on demand, but being able to promote new services, and to survey the community about what services they would like added to the service mix.
If your organisation is looking for Smart Technology for Aged Care to improve health outcomes, socialisation, operational efficiency and for service delivery growth, CareVision Smart Television and Integrated technology, give us a call on 1300 324 070, or Book a demo today.