Technology and Experts Assist in Aging in Place

"Karie" organizes, schedules, and dispenses pills.
This picture is subject to
 copyright of AceAge Inc.,
but is used without permission under the
"fair use" doctrine that permits
 use for educational purposes

I often tell clients stories to illustrate why gerontologists, and other experts, are indispensable in Aging in Place Planning, and why technology empowers seniors, and their families, and caregivers to prefer home over institutional care. One such real life story involves a client who I thought, based only upon the information available to me and her family, would require institutional care.  In that case, I and the family were wrong, and the client remained independent, at home, with technology providing  the necessary solution.

The challenge involved memory deficits and medication. The client, "Jane Doe" had recently been prescribed a blood thinner.  The client's children were understandably concerned, because they, and Jane Doe's doctors, had previously suspected that Jane Doe had "over-medicated."  Fortunately, the previous instance of over-medicating, presumably occurring because Jane Doe simply forgot that she had taken her medication, was not life threatening.  Now that Jane Doe's medication included a blood thinner, where the effects of mistaken over-medication might be life-threatening, the children inquired whether it was time to consider institutional care.

The concern was well-intentioned, and justified. Like her children, I presumed the time had come for Jane Doe to relent to institutional care, especially since her rural location would make professional care at the home difficult and expensive.  Jane Does was ruggedly independent, and like most of my clients, had expressed intentions to remain at home for as long as possible, despite worsening health or impairment.  She had, in fact been independent, capably managing her rural challenging existence for more than thirty years. I suggested that the family consult a gerontologist.

The gerontologist confirmed the legitimacy of the concern, and, in fact, believed that Jane Doe had a variety of additional challenges, about which we were unaware, that warranted consideration of institutional care.  The gerontologist, however, felt that institutional care would be traumatizing and destabilizing for the rural woman who had remained independent for so long.  She developed a plan for Jane Doe to remain at home, with the help of technology, and simple, inexpensive changes made to her "environment." 

The challenge of medication risk at home is common. Nearly one-third of older home health care patients have a potential medication problem or are taking a drug considered inappropriate for older people. Elderly home health care patients are vulnerable to adverse events from medication errors, in part, because they often take multiple medications, for multiple conditions, prescribed by multiple health care providers. The majority of older home health care patients routinely take more than five prescription drugs, and many patients deviate from their prescribed medication regime. The potential for medication errors among the home health care population is greater than in other health care settings because of the unstructured environment and unique communication challenges in the home health care system.  It is not surprising, then, that some suggest that almost one-quarter of patients in long term care are institutionalized because they cannot take their medication properly. 

One available solution is a product called "Karie" a product of AceAge Inc.  "Karie" is a personal health companion that organizes, schedules, and dispenses pills with one-button technology, ensuring that patients are taking the right medication at the right time. According to its manufacturer, Karie is "easy to use, enables greater patient autonomy and ensures better healthcare through a highly coordinated program."  Technology is providing solutions precisely in the time frame for which there is great need.