Laurie Orlov, the founder and senior analyst of Aging in Place Technology Watch, and the author of our Aging in Place Technology column recently sat down with Jill to discuss what she thought were the major components to the aging in place market—and where she thought our aging boomers would drive the industry as they begin to want and demand the technology and societal structures that mean they can safely stay in their homes.
In Orlov’s opinion there are four main components to the aging in place market:
- Communication & Engagement. Staying connected to each other, their families and the outside world.
- Home Safety & Security. As individuals become frail they will want products and services which allow them to stay in their home.
- Health & Wellness. These boomers will want the technologies that can be used in the home for safety and convenience. Orlov also mentions how the landscape of healthcare will change as telehealth becomes more common.
- Contribution & Learning. We will need to figure out ways to help elders stay sharp by ensuring their environment is changing and they can learn something new.
In the conversation with Jill, Orlov discusses what she sees as major factors that will inform how the industry changes, including how today many individuals will work well into "retirement age." Orlov goes on to compare the current aging in place market with that of Internet-based technologies in the late 1990s when many services and products were just plain cumbersome, not intuitive and didn't perfectly target the issue that needed a solution. Perhaps even more telling is an example of how Medicare currently operates regarding telehealth and reimbursement—as of right now a patient must be in a certain physical distance from a doctor to qualify as a visit that can be reimbursed by Medicare. Laurie's insights are vital to helping us understand what consumers need and how technology will eventually step in and effectively change how seniors age in this country.
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