AH! Just the discussion I was hoping for. I solicited and got great comments on the last post, Analog First, from some leaders for whom I have great respect. Thanks!
Don’t get me wrong. I am a true believer in electronic in-home monitoring, neighborhood hubs where information is analyzed over time and just the right help is dispatched as needed to avoid costly and miserable acute health conditions. I have written and often speak on Aging in Place technologies with over 30 blog entries devoted to the topic. That is not the digital I want to come second.
The comments help me see why I wrote that entry, this blog, and AiP2.0.
Aging in Place as we envision it doesn’t exist.
It is too hard for families and individuals. It is too hard for vendors and providers. It just doesn’t work. The flowing relationships and dynamic interplay of interventions does not happen. That is the analog we need to describe so one stop shopping, qualified and proactive management, changing services to match changing needs, eligibility blind application of interventions and simplified paying are systematic…so it can become digitized.
This is the critical reason John Migliaccio and I called our report: Aging in Place 2.0.
2.0 means the next generation, the future.
The situation is clear:
- More and older aging people
- Fewer payers and caregivers
- Increasing health costs
- More healthcare needed as we get older
- People prefer their own home
The solution is not so clear. There are plenty of great ideas, model programs and businesses and good intentions. There is not a lot of easy and successful Aging in Place. There are few modified homes. Few tech installations. Limited better transportation systems. Very few comprehensive experiments and models. The analog we need first is:
The Aging in Place Symphony – Living at home with services should be conceived of like an orchestra. The woodwinds, strings, brass, percussion, and other instruments have contributions defined by the score while a conductor, although providing no sound, manages the entire ensemble to produce beautiful music. Similarly, the efficient flow of Aging in Place resources and providers are managed by a comprehensive and dynamic management system, maintaining the health and dignity of residents in the home of their choice.
When the services flow to all as needed the monitoring technologies will have their market defined, their roles clear. That will be Aging in Place.
Louis Tenenbaum, one of the nation's leading authorities on aging in place, is the founder of HomesRenewed, a coalition of business, consumers and nonprofits, driving policy and investment to increase the number of age-friendly homes.
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Love the concept of the ‘symphony’…well put, analog and electronic!!