News

Private care providers and governments are increasingly looking to technology to reduce budgets and improve productivity in aged and other home-based care services.  The huge number of news articles and reports from around the world - in particular in Japan, Australia and the USA - show what a focus information technology in aged care has become,  both for governments and for investors who are looking to particular segments of this growing industry for high returns.

These developments arise partly from the budget crisis facing governments in countries with aging populations, and where finding a solution to funding services for aging populations is key. This intersection of governments looking to minimise the amount spent on care and investors looking for profit means a current focus is minimising labour cost, while developing tech-driven solutions for elder care. There are many new approaches including:

• The development of online socialisation tools to keep older people interacting socially, given that a key challenge to at home care is isolation and atomisation;
• Self-testing technology to help older people manage their own (often chronic) conditions, including robotic equipment being introduced for example to monitor blood pressure, medication levels, and to assist with rehabilitative functions;
• Mobile technology for carers, telecare, and telehealth aids;
• Alarm systems and other assistive technology for the elderly which make use of information communications technology (ICT) – alarm systems are already a private sector money maker in many countries.

New technology has already changed the face of social and health care, and will continue to do so in the coming decades. The main changes will be:

• Changing patterns of patient-care giver relationships;
• Changes in health organisations and the working relationships of care personnel;
• Further development and extended use of technologies (e.g. telemedicine) with the aim to improve the speed and cost of health services and increase the quality of patient care;
• Growing importance of actors to manage data and information flow (e.g. health informatics specialists).

From a care worker perspective, the issues driving the use of information technology are important. Improved patient care and safety, along with improved working conditions for already overburdened and stressed workers, could result from information technology being well utilised, however broad projections of robots replacing workers to help minimise the costs of care provision are a media focus at the present time. The commercialisation of aged care through the use of technology is well underway and workers must organise and develop their thinking about how technology best delivers for the elderly and for workers – to improve quality and accessibility of services, rather than simply delivering for investors and others looking to profit from this growing sector.

The areas of dementia care, disabilities, bathing support, and the management of long term chronic conditions are issues which need to be faced, as well as what kind of support and social interaction best serves the needs of our elderly. Social inclusion through the development of ICT is an area being developed in the EU, including the establishment of a set of ICT competencies for both care workers and the elderly, however some researchers believe it is ‘not only misguided, but actually unethical, to attempt to substitute robot simulacra for genuine social interaction’.

The question is how should society’s resources best be utilised to serve the needs of the public? Can technology realistically meet the needs of those requiring care, and what are the ethical and social implications of such technological advancements? With care workers at the centre of providing for the well-being of our elderly, what role are workers playing in determining the future of the sector?