Don’t forget Internet research into platforms and applications (apps) that can make your care-giving life easier. They can include:
· TeleHealth and Virtual Health Care
· Remote Monitoring and Wearables
· Phone and Medical Reminders
· Smarthome features
· Legal and record keeping apps
While technology can really help to streamline care-giving tasks, yet another skill a caregiver needs is computer literacy. You need the tools that provide up to date information in the care-giving arena. One of your tasks will focus on keeping up to date with new information and learning to use it to your advantage.
Computers and new information can equal a learning curve, time devoted to learning something that could have been spent doing something else entirely. But it has to be done.
This is one of the reasons it helps to have a built up support team. Some of the issues that will come up demand time away from being with your loved one. But someone else can be there to give you the time you need.
Introduction to Care-giving Apps
There are online apps that are now being used to help both caregivers and the patients they are caring for. One type of online platform is referred to as care coordination.
This is a tool that allows for multiple groups of people to share information with each other, organize information, and collaborate to find solutions to problems together.
It can all happen much more rapidly online, saving caregivers a lot of time. It also allows for situations where multiple caregivers might need direct access to personal information to collaborate with each other as needed.
It makes it easier to set up care plans, divide up care-giving tasks, collect stats, and organize information necessary to both personal and health issues of your loved one.
It can be life saving to have information organized and shareable, especially in circumstances where there is a sudden trip to the hospital.
These experiences can be emotional and your aren’t always clear-headed enough to remember everything that you might need. Having your loved one’s medical history instantly available can be helpful during a hospital stay.
An ongoing list of medications and how your loved one reacts to those meds is one of those things that you can forget as you gather materials for trips to the hospital. Having them organized and easily accessible is a massive time saver.
You can also use many types of platforms to share ongoing information with family members. Perhaps keeping loved ones informed can help alleviate fears due to lack on information, and reduce conflicts between family members.
Telehealth and Virtual Healthcare services are offered on phone and internet platforms. While Telehealth isn’t particularly new, it was extremely helpful during the Covid 19 shelter in place event.
After people began going out into the world again, Telehealth slacked off. But it is a great tool, especially for patients who have reached the point where going to doctor appointments become way too much of a burden and chore.
While it may not be fiscally feasible for everyone, there are smarthome features and devices that can be of great assistance to families caring for loved ones who are aging in place. Smarthomes can be set up to enhance safety and accessibility for your loved one’s life.
From smart lighting, to automatic thermostats and security systems, the home itself can become a tool in the caregiver’s toolbox.
Within the home you would have access to voice assistants and speakers, an upgrade to your nanny/baby cams. They are hands free, which can be freeing for those who have issues such as arthritis that can make it difficult to hold items for any length of time.
They can offer up medicine reminders throughout the day without the need to have a person call and do that. They can also be a connection between family and friends who want to check in on your loved one without the added burden on a loved one to prepare for visitors.
Other tech tools not to forget about can include smart glasses and hearing aids. Every day new enhancements in hearing aids are being studied and improved.
There are tons of improvements in the category of wearable devices as well. Beyond remote safety monitoring, fitness apps can track vital signs, activity patterns, and many other health metrics that can make information about your loved ones readily available to be passed along to medical professionals.
When looking at tools and applications that put people online, it becomes important to consider safety and security. Data is precious and medical information is and should continue to be private. Look for platforms that understand this and use those over fairly open platforms.
These platforms can be tools that help to facilitate conversation, help with organization, and offer up support for caregivers, families, and patients. And even monitor health issues remotely.
Many of these tools are helpful to both the patients and the caregivers. When understood, they can provide information more quickly, and take tasks off the already full caregivers plate.
Though Tech tools will not replace you yet, they can assist you with a variety of care-giving tasks that will make the caregivers life a lot easier. You’ll be able to track medical stats that you may need to pass on to medical professionals.
With the advent of AI, we are beginning to see more advances and higher levels of capacity in remote patient monitoring. These systems collect and analyze health data on an on-going basis. This can lead to earlier detection of issues, allowing for earlier interventions to nip problems in the bud.
AI also enhances predictive healthcare on an individual level. The AI can identify patterns and problems faster than human beings might. These data points can help caregivers target problems before they become too large.
Alongside AI, other technologies can play larger and larger roles in patient care. Some of these technologies include: Robotics and Automation, AR, or Augmented Reality, and VR, or Virtual Reality.
Robotics and Automation can help with real world physical tasks that can include mobility support, household chores, even medication management. There are automated pill dispensers that can be set up to dispense the proper medications as needed.
Maybe someday in the very near future there will be a case to be made for Robotics, automation, and companionship. Right now AR and VR can offer their expertise in therapeutic areas.
Cognitive stimulation-even virtual training for caregivers and family members could become a reality soon. They may even help within areas of pain management for those dealing with all manner of chronic pain.
There are experiments tracking AR and VR to see how the well being of patients can be improved. There has always been the knowledge that companionship sparks more positive attitudes in patients, and health often improves as a patient’s attitude improves.
There are also other apps and platform types you can leverage to make your tasks easier. For example, financial apps are available to help organize household budgets, manage medications, and to put together legal documents you are going to need.
These apps not only organize materials, they can help you put together the plans that are uniquely suited to you and your loved one’s situation. Don’t overlook them. They could be of great assistance to you.
Specifically for the caregiver, there are a number of stress reduction apps available. You might find yoga, deep breathing, relaxation, even guided imagery apps to help with that stress reduction. You can track your mental and emotional health and stay aware of how close you might be to burnout, before it hits you all at once.
You’ll find quick and fairly easy access to mental health care advisors, when you need someone to talk to or a place to vent when things begin to get to you. And there will be times that they will.
There are also apps and platforms for getting together with other caregivers who may be able to help with problems you are having, or simply to listen to what is happening with you at any given time.
Training apps and websites that can teach caregivers how to do care-giving in healthy and manageable ways.
These days technology plays larger and larger roles in healthcare and healthcare management. It continues to play a heavy role in medicine management and chronic disease management. The role of technology in Alzheimer’s and dementia is expanding daily. There are many apps that focus on Cognitive and memory enhancement as well.
As a primary caregiver, it could help you immensely to keep up to date on what’s available to help both you and your loved one.
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