Changes in the healthcare system over the past few years have led many to wonder what life will be like for their relatives and children as we move into the future. At the same time, astounding advances in technology have brought the world enhanced capabilities when it comes to interaction, collaboration, and research. As a result, the sciences have brought significant improvements in the quality and efficiency of patient care, including testing, operations, and recovery. It is important to take a look at the future of in-home care for individuals to understand what services are available today for senior citizens and how the practice is evolving.
Robots and Medical Assistance
Robots are enhancing the way that doctors and patients communicate. When it comes to a patient’s personal treatment plan, having a robot or automated system can help a senior citizen prepare meals and measure out medications accurately. Technology can also provide a vital service by allowing patients to connect with their doctors via video-conferencing solutions. This makes it so a person does not need to worry about transportation or long waits at the hospital or doctor’s office. Instead, a person receiving in-home care is able to quickly and conveniently check in with their doctor about their progress.
The Benefits of Robots for Home Care
As time goes by, more and more people are welcoming the assistance of robots into their home. These machines help senior citizens with a number of tasks that make daily life at home easier. In addition to measuring out precise doses of medication, robots can give people reminders of upcoming appointments and review the daily agenda. One such robotic assistant named “Hector” can detect emergencies, such as a fall, and alert the proper authorities to summon the help that is required, according to Forbes.
Choosing Home Care Instead of a Facility
In addition to robots making things easier on the elderly when it comes to medical care, they also make receiving in-home care more attractive than moving into a facility. Choosing home care helps keep families together by allowing a person to stay close to those that mean the most to them.
Other reasons that home care is preferred over facility care include:
- Patients Remain at Home – Nobody wants to feel institutionalized. Seniors prefer to remain independent and home care allows people to feel comfortable while they deal with illness or injury. This also provides social value and allows people to keep their daily routines without having to lose control of their situation.
- Home Care Promotes Healing – Patients heal more quickly when they are at home. Freedom and comfort are essential to the healing process, and being surrounded by a familiar setting helps accomplish this. Additionally, in-home care helps reduce stress so that a person can heal faster and more completely.
- Patients Prefer Home Care – Each senior and his or her family is involved in the health care process every step of the way. This ownership over the process leads to higher satisfaction in the care provided.
Since medical services previously only available in a hospital or facility are now available at home, opting for in-home care has become a much more attractive option for seniors.
The Human Element Cannot Be Replaced
Although the technology exists to assist senior citizens with their medical services in the comfort and privacy of their own home, there will never be an adequate replacement for the human element of home care. Non-medical home care specialists provide services that robots simply cannot. As mentioned previously, remaining social in one’s later years is extremely important. Having conversations, playing games, and just having someone around the house goes a long way toward supporting the recovery of someone living alone with an illness.
Always Best Care’s non-medical personnel can help by answering the door and phone, preparing grocery lists, or even mailing bills when they come in. Having someone around to look after the house also allows senior citizens to remain in control of their life without having to worry about potential injury.
A home helper assists with the wake-up and bedtime routines, checks that food in the kitchen has not expired, and runs errands. As someone ages, simple tasks like making the bed, cooking meals, and taking care of pets can become more difficult. Luckily, an in-home care specialist will be there to complete these tasks each day and will make sure that anything that comes up is taken care of. In the event of an emergency, it is nice to have someone around that can get help.
Having a trusted professional at home when family members cannot be present makes staying at home that much easier for senior citizens. While robots are being developed to assist seniors in completing everyday tasks, there is nothing like being able to have a person you trust at home to look after a loved one.
