Is Microhousing a Viable Alternative to Aging Poorly in Place?
An idea whose time has come?
Aging in place may not be for everyone, as the University of Florida's Stephen Golant noted: 48% of seniors spend more than half their income on housing, and 14% of those age 75+ still have mortgages. Separated by distance from adult children, perhaps they suffer from isolation, poor health, and other downsides that Dr. Golant spells out in some detail. He recommends that moving from one's home need not be viewed as a tragedy, suggesting options like naturally occurring retirement communities (NORCs) or village approaches for shared services, moving in with family members, or moving to a smaller home or condo.
Read More >>Why Isn't Tech More Appealing?
People are people, not patients
Next week I am going to Connected Health in Boston, where I will no doubt walk up and down aisles filled with medication management systems, chronic disease devices, and every type of tech to help doctors do a better job of caring for their patients—and presumably to help patients take better care of themselves.
Read More >>New and Noteworthy Vendors at AARP Orlando@50+
AARP puts on a great party
Boomers everywhere: So there were 22,000+ attendees (average age, 62.8, according to AARP). They slogged around the mammoth Orange County Convention Center, stopping by exhibits only when they weren't a mile away (same building) and listening to the likes of Whoopi Goldberg, Larry King, Rob Reiner, Cesar Milan, Dave Barry, and Newt Gingrich.
Read More >>Media Coverage on Remote Monitoring for Seniors Lacks Substance
Enough already!
Clearly, free buzz is the best marketing any tech vendor can get—and it is good to raise consumer awareness about a market category with fewer than 10,000 deployed units (a sum of the installed base, as described to me by vendors). Overall, these stories have been superficial: Hey, these are news stories, after all. They briefly mentioned a randomly selected set of tech vendors and perhaps whetted the appetite of consumers to consider their use. Never mind that numerous barriers and constraints have, to date, limited adoption of remote home activity monitoring because of issues with pricing, reimbursement expectations, a well-established set of product capability and features, and a well-developed distribution model.
Read More >>Under the Radar: The A-Plus Senior Computer
Despite the hype, the iPad may not be best for seniors
Over the past few years, several attempts at creating a “senior” computer have been made, including a pricey senior PC partnership between HP and Microsoft and the thin-client GO Computer from MyGait (sold through FirstSTREET), which is not extensible—what you get is what you get, and as a few frustrated comments on the blog post indicate, it's not to everyone's liking when it is time to add devices or additional software.
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