[Article] Enhancing Homecare with Technology Solutions

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As people live longer and chronic diseases become more common, the need for innovative technology solutions in home care is growing. Investing in these technologies is essential to keep up with the increasing demand for home-based care.

Technological advances are crucial to sustaining our healthcare system as more people choose to age in place. Better home care solutions can delay the need for institutional care, improve the quality of life for the elderly, and save the healthcare system significant resources. Home care is generally more cost-effective than long-term care facilities for supporting seniors with health conditions.

Why Technology-based Solutions?

The Canadian Home Care Association (CHCA) highlights that technological advancements have opened new possibilities for care delivery, such as:

• Integrating monitoring and therapeutic systems
• Offering educational opportunities for providers, patients, and families
• Facilitating better communication and data sharing among healthcare teams

The CHCA suggests that these mobile, user-friendly solutions will fundamentally change how we approach healthcare, leading to more efficient and personalized care. This shift will allow individuals to gain more independence, stay in their homes longer, engage more in their care, and provide better support for family caregivers.

Recently, the BC provincial government introduced an initiative to help seniors safely age in place by equipping their homes with technology for virtual care and monitoring. The program, called “The Long-term Care at Home program” (LTC@Home), uses technology to monitor seniors for fall detection, activity levels, medication adherence, wandering, and vital signs. The program is tailored to individual needs and monitored by a care team that responds to alerts. It also includes respite care to help prevent caregiver burnout, allowing loved ones to stay at home longer.

Though this program is still in its early stages, it will expand across BC in the coming years. To qualify, seniors must meet one of the following criteria:

• Be on or eligible for the long-term care waitlist and living at home with a primary caregiver (family or friend)
• Be on or eligible for the assisted living waitlist and living at home
• Live at home, with or without a caregiver, capable of managing daily activities but at risk of isolation, falls, or needing vitals monitoring or medication dispensing

As baby boomers reach their 80s, they will need to embrace these technology-based home care solutions. It’s the only way our struggling public healthcare system can meet the growing demands of this generation as they age in place. As a result, we can expect continued investment in the “age-tech” space from both government and private sectors in the years ahead.

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Jeff Goreski

Chief Product & Customer Advocate @ Gravitii.care

Jeff Goreski has a background in Gerontology and Health promotion and is the Chief Customer & Product Advocate with Gravitii Technologies Inc., a B.C. company that has developed a platform to connect the public with compassionate, professional home care providers.