Health 2.0 and Telecare for The Elderly

Research into impact of Health 2.0 based services and the changing aspirations and expectations of the elderly on the telecare market.

• Profiles of Tunstall, AMDTelehealth, Docobo, Caregiver Technology and AT&T .
• Also mentioned:- Yahoo, Google Health and Microsoft Health Vault.
• The impact of a growing number of elderly people with IT skills.
• Changing attitudes to 'ageing in place.'
• When the elderly, rather than their children, purchase telehealth services.
• The elderly and blood glucose monitoring case study.
• Using Health 2.0 as a platform for telecare for the elderly.
• Health 2.0 filling the gap in the electronic patient record system market.
• Vendors are adapting to changes in the telecare market.

Over the next two decades an increasing number of people will reach the age at which they need the type of support that can be provided using a telecare service. Most telecare vendors and providers market their products and services within a framework based on the 'ageing in place' concept. 'Ageing in place' assumes that if a person is given the required support they can remain in their own home rather than being cared for in sheltered accommodation or a nursing home. This concept appeals both to elderly people, as they can lead relatively independent lives in familiar surroundings, and also to healthcare providers because care costs less to provide at the edge of the healthcare network.

Each year will see more people who have used computers and the Internet during their working lives using their IT skills to improve the quality of their lives during old age. Already some people who have been exposed to Internet-based social networking have reached retirement age, and as more do so the market for telecare for the aged will become more complex for the vendors and service providers who have to address an increasing mix of user skills and requirements.

Some vendors are beginning to experiment with a new generation of telecare services that use Health 2.0-type technology as a platform. These vendors may soon be able to launch next generation telecare services in a section of the healthcare market where incumbent healthcare providers have little influence over the type of service the consumer has access to. If this trend continues, elderly telecare users will make up an important part of the market for services such as Google Health and Microsoft's Health Vault, especially if access and privacy issues slow the adoption of the electronic patient record systems deployed by incumbent healthcare providers.

This report examines the changing market for telecare for the aged, and analyses the potential impact of Health 2.0 on this sector of the healthcare market. The report also looks at the way vendors are building a range of remote monitoring and communications technology into both existing and next generation telecare and support services for the elderly.

Who should purchase this report:-

• Medical device vendors.
• Wireless technology vendors.
• eHealth and healthcare providers.
• Decision makers in the public healthcare sector.
• Investors in the healthcare IT sector.
• Mobile operators.
• Other organisations active in telecare provision.