Editorial: Virtual care for elderly

Anna Wallis PHOTO/FILE

WhanganuI has been advised that it has to be creative about making money. And the assisted living industry for the elderly is one to consider.

On Thursday we tried to sell the idea to Economic Development Minister Steven Joyce. There is the possibility of a pilot programme in the Whanganui region involving 50 people who would likely need residential care in the next two years.

The idea is to keep them out of such care. And assisted living services and technology can do just that.

It can range from help with bathing, doing laundry and keeping track of prescription medications to more sophisticated care - primarily using information technology.

Think of a smart TV, the hub of the home, which is a virtual social support system for the elderly.

It's a personalised communication and service channel in the home, providing a two-way communication for family, friends and caregivers as well as entertainment and services for household, shopping and community information - that's how one company in the market describes it anyway.

Along with the practical help, such systems give the elderly comfort and security, making them feel happy and cared for enough to stay in their own home.

Information technology can also provide automatic and continuous remote monitoring, using mobile phones, wireless connections and sensors to know what is happening in someone's home, be it an emergency or a change in routine or lifestyle.

Technology can even be used as a personal virtual coach, encouraging a more active lifestyle and breaking sedentary routines.

There is a risk it all sounds a bit 1984, but it's less about watching you and more about watching out for you.

Given, for instance, that 25 per cent of older people enter residential care because they can't look after their own medications, it's an industry whose time has well and truly come.