It’s Time for Enlightened Corporations to Meet the Needs of Employee Caregivers

The National Alliance for Caregiving reports that caregivers who don’t receive support from employers experience a negative impact on their careers. 

In fact:

·         66% of caregiver employees have gone into work late, left early or taken time off during the day to deal with caregiving issues

·         20% of caregivers were forced to take a leave of absence from work

·         10% of caregiver employees quit or take early retirement

·         9% of caregivers reduce hours or take less demanding jobs

·         5% of caregiver employees turn down a promotion

The negative impact on the corporation itself is more staggering. “Absenteeism” and “Presenteeism” (when I am at work but not really working- I am caring) is costing corporations millions. Furthermore, unhealthy stress on caregivers trying to balance the demands of care giving and job responsibilities ultimately adds more expense to an employer’s health costs. The day is fast arriving when employee care giving support via an Employee Assistance Program (EAP) will be the rule. Unless corporations move swiftly to craft and adopt enlightened practices and policies we will see government mandated employee caregiver support laws emerge. The numbers of employee care givers are dramatically expanding as the ‘Boomer’ population ages and retires. Caregivers will become a yet another protected class by necessity and by law.

Technology can play a vital role in lowering costs, lessening stress and reducing hospital admissions by connecting care givers and their families so that everyone can be informed of the health status of their isolated or remote ‘parents’ on any given day. If Ian employee had this technology as a benefit option as care giver they could then can more easily decide whether they need to go to ’Mom’s home’ or can actually go on into work. Or, if an employee is on a business trip, having such connectivity would allow me to concentrate on the task at hand by knowing what is happening and if a pro-active care intervention is needed.

If you are considering ‘care giver technology’ as a corporate benefit (EAP) I would like to know your thoughts.

Home Care Technology's Third Wave

I believe that we can all agree that technology has and will continue to change the landscape of home care. Most of technologies’ initial wave was focused on making business operations more efficient. Cost based decisions. We are now well into the second phase - patient-centric technologies – technologies utilized to enhance monitoring, care adherence plans and behaviors and reduce re-admissions more cost based decisions. The third wave has started – health care technology as a revenue generating profit center.

The unique impact of this third wave is that it will transform technology driven enhanced care and the attendant quality outcomes into profit centers. Like previous technology waves it will start primarily in private care. Technology will be a significant client and partner attraction. See the handwriting on the ‘government’s CMS wall’. More visibility to STAR Ratings. More pressure to give patients a voice in care. More decisions being driven by value based marketing, that is being able to prove that your outcomes’ in care giving performance is better than that of others and the restructuring of payment models to enhance the use and adoption of technology. Technology creates better health outcomes.

I know that we have many ‘payment’ hurdles to overcome. But I believe that home care will have little choice but to get on technologies’ third wave and manage it not just as a cost center but also as a revenue center. So why wait. Today, many of the technologies can start out as self- funding profit centers. Offering such services and not only differentiates your service but can be crafted to earn a profit.

The balance is shifting to where home care services will need a robust IT inventory of customer oriented technology services and a concurrent delivery and support capability to remain competitive and profitable. My forecast is that the solutions/revisions to existing ‘payment hurdles’ will outpace home care’s ability to adopt, deploy and manage future technologies.

What do you think?

Mike Radice serves as Chairman of the Technology Advisory Boards for ChartaCares.com and Generationcares.com

Health Care Tablets 'and' Robots

For many decades I have been working in the technology convergence space. Health care technologies are my current focus. Many years ago I was in a meeting and was struck by the simplicity and insight voiced by Steve Wozniak the Apple so-founder. His comment: “Innovation is about the ‘and’”, he said. It’s not about pulling something completely new out of the ether, it’s about identifying how and when the convergence, the ‘and’ of technologies provides an innovative opportunity. When ‘this’ and ‘that’ are thoughtfully understood and combined into what then becomes something new and innovative.

Currently robot assisted health care is typically thought of as ‘that’ and challenged as striving to replace human care givers. No one that I know has replacing human to human care as an objective. Lessening the burden of care delivery, increasing the available resources that can be dedicated to care, more attentive care, more aware care, more customized care and care that enhances the quality of life- yes. And, good objectives they are.

But we have now reached the moment whereby many will now begin to more fully understand that robots are the new interface to knowledge – and action. Having successfully created an ‘and’ by bringing together what was only tablet based software with robots convinces me that robots will indeed win their place – in health care. Now we have an attentive robot that can move and ‘seek and surmise about’ a health situation and reach out and suggest to a care giver that something needs attention. At the most basic level, see if someone is moving or static. Is that someone responsive to queries? Is that someone happy or sad? Most critical is the do something about it aspect - like move around - to deliver medicine, do an infra-red scan on body temperature or measure heart rate or launch a video tele-presence call to remote care giver.

Yes, it will take a while to achieve robot price points that broaden consumer use which is why we should continue to focus so intently on understanding and delivering the benefits of tablet based care giving systems. Not only are they effective, they are inexpensive. Tablets have moved the needle in health care and as they move from the social arena into meaningful care delivery they are the stepping stone to the next great ‘and’.

So I agree tablets are the right move today but it is… ‘and’ robots tomorrow.

If you would like to discuss the impact of tablets and robots in health care feel free to reach out to me at mike@chartacloud.com 

Medicine for Care Givers

There can be little doubt that family centered care giving is becoming now a consuming activity for three generations. The Boomer retirement generation is now caring for their parents. The ‘sandwich generation’ will need soon to care for the Boomers. No need to re-visit the facts of the rapidly escalating numbers that are impacting all generations. I am sure you are well versed in these numbers at the top level. It’s a big deal. But the issues and challenges we are facing are broadening beyond the numbers with each passing day. Experience brings further discovery.

What needs to be kept in mind is that care giving is a one to one relationship. Child to parent for example. While the ‘big numbers’ matter, in the end, the real issues get reduced to ‘my family’ to ‘my parents’. Does it really help knowing that millions of others face similar issues? The choices, the decisions and the options all need to be ultimately decided one family at a time.

The stress and burden of being a daily care giver is only further exacerbated with the ever present challenge of knowing what is actually happening, where to start next and when to start doing what. Each day sits on the precipice of bringing a totally unanticipated and expected care giving event. As time wears on, so does the stress, weighing ever more heavily on the care giver. Most of us were never schooled or trained for this role in life. One day it just fell to us.

Being dedicated to embracing care givers with technology solutions that they can use to embrace the ones they care for has become a life mission for me – more than a business vision. I have carefully chosen the word embrace for use here and in my other writings because in no way is technology going to replace human to human care. But technology used to embrace the circumstance can help to manage, control and expedite care. Technology can lessen the burden. It can reduce the likelihood of hospitalizations. It can improve quality of life. And, yes, it surely can make care giving just a bit more manageable and bearable.

What we have learned is that for the technology to be correctly helpful, it needs to be defined - one family at time. It needs to be able to work for that family – and for that care giver.

So, just like any medicine, technology has its place and proper use. Just like the care giver’s oath to “do no harm” technology needs to help. It can be a cure for the debilitating effects of isolation. Properly dispensed it can aid in recoveries. And, it most certainly can help improve the quality of life for all involved. 

In the world that lies ahead for all too many, the ‘first patient’ to be considered is the care giver and for them technology can be a powerful medicine.

Mike radice is Chairman of the Technology Advisories of www.chartacares.com and www.GenerationCares.com and his blog can be read at www.chatraplace.blogspot.com

An Observation About AARP’s Project Catalyst Report on Caregivers and Technology

At the outset, let me start by saying that I am a biased reader of this report and that in no manner has AARP or the report’s authors endorsed the claims I make below. The report’s developers did a first rate job at synthesizing the data, the findings and surfacing the issues and trends. This report will be must read and an oft quoted source of statistics for anyone involved in home based care and care giving. My appreciation also extends to the sponsors of the report.

Why am I a biased reviewer? Over the last two years as an innovator in this market place I have become deeply involved with the technologies available. I can confidently state that the survey’s response statistics accurately reflects my real world experience interacting with end users.

Based upon that experience, and now substantiated by this report, our MyHomeReach product, a tablet based system for care givers and care recipients, could accurately have been included as the ‘poster child’ for a recommended solution. Point by point, MyHomeReach surpasses the stated expectations and requirements recommended for consideration by technology providers by the report’s authors. We have done more that consider them we have done it.

To state it another way, this report could easily serve as a blueprint for why MyHomeReach was created.

If you want to read the just published report it is, as of this writing, currently available at:

http://www.aarp.org/content/dam/aarp/home-and-family/personal-technology/2016/04/Caregivers-and-Technology-AARP.pdf?intcmp=RDRCT-ESI-INNOV50-CAREGVRTECH-20160427

If you want to see the solution, see:

http://www.chartacares.com/#!homereach/c16jo

So, thank you AARP and the report’s Sponsors. At ChartaCares we are profoundly encouraged and will innovate on!

Loneliness Is A Real Killer - Scene 2

While I am continually saddened by the impact of ‘loneliness’, I am pleased to share an article just published in the LA TIMES written by Melissa Healy and just published on April 19.

I first wrote about this growing scourge because of the firsthand impact I have experienced with providing technologies to reduce the impact of loneliness especially on seniors. Aging is challenging. Aging at home more challenging. Aging alone, nearly un-challengeable. And now, the data is in. loneliness kills.

See: http://chartaplace.blogspot.com/2015/12/loneliness-is-real-killer.html

I am unabashed in offering you awareness of two technologies that can be transformative in the lives of seniors -- our MyHomeReach and Selfhelp systems. I intend to offend no one using this forum to increase awareness. If I can help even one life, it will have been worth being bounced from some user groups.

See Melissa’s article at: http://www.latimes.com/science/sciencenow/la-sci-sn-loneliness-heart-risk-smoking-20160419-story.html

I can be reached at www.chartacares.com or by phone 603-580-5497 if you would like to learn more.

Mike Radice

How New Era Assisted Living Communities Are Increasing Their Relevancy

 First mover assisted living communities with an ‘eye on’ and a plan for the future are underway with and aggressively moving to position themselves to be ever more relevant to future clients. My engagements with these communities clearly points to two prime motivators. First, recognition that the age-at-home desire is serious and very real. Second, that advances in technologies can indeed provide a cost effective manner with which to engage and establish ‘early’ relationships with future clients.

My previous blog on “The Rise of the Virtual Nursing Home” attracted unprecedented traffic and stimulated a wide range of discussions. That was a good thing. What has been the takeaway from those discussions thus far? Let me share –

1.       There are active projects underway to set up technology demonstration centers located at the ‘brick & mortar’ communities that show how those ‘aging-at-home’ in the surrounding geographic areas can become part of the community.

2.       These centers will show how to improve the quality of life, security and social engagement while ‘aging-at-home’.

3.       They will serve as a provision centers (show rooms) for technologies that the community can provision to ‘boomers’ thereby engaging with them actively as future residents during their ‘age-at-home’ stage.

By taking these actions assisted living communities not only making very smart ‘marketing move’ but positioning themselves for new revenue sources not just for the technology services but for additional care giver and social services than can then naturally flow through their now established ‘virtual communities’.

Two technologies are at the starting point epicenter:

Unified care-recipient/care-giver tablet based communications – like MyHomeReach, custom branded to the community. This technology establishes a sense of community, allows for constant health status and security monitoring and is designed to embrace everyone involved with community news and events – including remote family members.

And, the use of (specialized for seniors) telepresence (video links) as in home video consoles to facilitate tele-health and social engagement. And, if permitted to view the health ‘situation’ and living conditions of those at home. The products have become very cost effective and are simple to set up

.

As we at ChartaCares are actively working to frame them out, I can assure you that these initiatives are moving forward – aggressively. If you would like to discuss this subject further feel free to call me at 603-580-5497. I’d be happy to share what we have learned. www.chartacares.com