Artificial Intelligence Seeks Senior Living Niche
Robots have been delivering medicine, bussing tables and leading bingo games for several years at nursing homes and assisted living centers in Japan, Ireland and parts of the United States — but how will Artificial Intelligence (AI) change their roles?
Smarter robots are being incorporated into wearable health screeners, always-alert companions and instant online access providers.
Many families expect these advances and services, since they already experiment with smart devices at home. They use wearable devices like smart watches – which track a person’s mood, health status and oxygen levels – and live in smart homes outfitted with technology that can turn on or off appliances, home security and heating and air conditioning.
Smartphones are perhaps the most commonly used device that can assist with senior living concerns. They can detect if a person falls, alert doctors and caregivers and automatically connect with a hospital’s network.
Many believe that AI elements will prove to be essential and cost effective. Experts estimate the yearly cost of people falling in residential care centers may be as high as $380,000, according to a State of Falls report by SafelyYou, a company whose CEO, George Netscher, saw his relatives decline with Alzheimer’s and decided to act. He developed real-time AI video technology that allows residential care staff and a remote clinical team to analyze each person’s fall and develop ways to keep the person from falling again.
Falls often cause residents to need more intensive care –and research shows that they drive healthcare workers to leave, contributing to costly worker turnover in a system where staff shortages are already acute.
By preventing people from falling, long-term care facilities can save money when facing worker shortages, struggling to obtain government funding and fighting skepticism over billing, refunds and care quality.
AI technologies aim to improve and streamline healthcare too, according to “The Future of Generative AI in Healthcare,” a report created by VSP Vision’s Global Innovation Center. For example:
• Chatbots are used to answer questions and schedule appointments so nurses can focus on their jobs.
• Clinical decision tools can help nurses more quickly identify patients who are at risk of complications and track their progress.
• Virtual reality can give residents a museum visit, outdoor walk or dance lesson without leaving the care center.
• New technology can speed up clinical trials to get more personalized drugs to market.
• Headsets let doctors stay on top of patients’ brain health and spot signs of neurodegenerative conditions.
• Medical education can be personalized so it resonates with patients and prospective medical students from diverse and underserved communities. Though Artificial Intelligence technologies are met with hesitancy by many, their benefits are numerous, especially for healthcare workers and those in senior living facilities.