School of Medicine and Health Sciences Poster Presentations
Preparing for The Baby Boom: Utilizing Mobile Applications to Keep Geriatric Patients Healthy
Document Type
Poster
Keywords
Geriatrics; Prevention; Mobile Application; Telemedicine
Publication Date
Spring 2017
Abstract
The United States’ population is aging and aging fast. The 2013 US census reported that people aged sixty-five and older accounted for 44.7 million people and 14% of the total US population. With the aging of the baby boomer population, the number of elderly in the US is expected to more than double to an astonishing 98 million people by 2060 and will comprise approximately half of the US population.
In an effort to offset some of the financial, logistical, and infrastructural challenges that caring for a large geriatric population may present, it is important to focus on preventative medicine. This project explores the cross roads of technology and preventative medicine in an effort to lay the foundation for a mobile application, which will better enable physicians, patients, and caregivers to share real time information in the management of chronic disease.
The research presented is stage one of the project, in which basic tenants are identified upon which the mobile application will be based. Extensive literature reviews were conducted on various subjects including: telemedicine, traditional geriatric medicine, preventative geriatric medicine, prevalent and costly diseases among the elderly, the cost of caring for the elderly, and innovative ways to finance care. Shadowing experiences in these fields as well as physician interviews helped further shape the basic tenants.
Five basic tenants of my mobile application were identified and are briefly summarized below.
A successful product will:
1. lower the cost of healthcare by targeting the most prevalent and costly conditions among the elderly while also promoting overall healthy living.
2. lower the cost of healthcare by utilizing the app to facilitate independent living
3. be economical enough for a consumer to pay for it out of pocket or should be medically necessary to be covered by Medicare or health insurances.
4. alleviate some of the unique challenges specific to geriatricians.
5. only succeed if the app is executed properly- both from a user perspective and also from integration with the end provider.
Future stages of this project will utilize these tenants to develop an app where patients can monitor all of their chronic conditions with physician oversight, maintain healthy living, and provide key medical and ancillary information to assist in independent living. This is all in an effort to prevent the progression of chronic diseases, improve quality of care and life, and alleviate the burden an aging population will have on society.
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.
Open Access
1
Preparing for The Baby Boom: Utilizing Mobile Applications to Keep Geriatric Patients Healthy
The United States’ population is aging and aging fast. The 2013 US census reported that people aged sixty-five and older accounted for 44.7 million people and 14% of the total US population. With the aging of the baby boomer population, the number of elderly in the US is expected to more than double to an astonishing 98 million people by 2060 and will comprise approximately half of the US population.
In an effort to offset some of the financial, logistical, and infrastructural challenges that caring for a large geriatric population may present, it is important to focus on preventative medicine. This project explores the cross roads of technology and preventative medicine in an effort to lay the foundation for a mobile application, which will better enable physicians, patients, and caregivers to share real time information in the management of chronic disease.
The research presented is stage one of the project, in which basic tenants are identified upon which the mobile application will be based. Extensive literature reviews were conducted on various subjects including: telemedicine, traditional geriatric medicine, preventative geriatric medicine, prevalent and costly diseases among the elderly, the cost of caring for the elderly, and innovative ways to finance care. Shadowing experiences in these fields as well as physician interviews helped further shape the basic tenants.
Five basic tenants of my mobile application were identified and are briefly summarized below.
A successful product will:
1. lower the cost of healthcare by targeting the most prevalent and costly conditions among the elderly while also promoting overall healthy living.
2. lower the cost of healthcare by utilizing the app to facilitate independent living
3. be economical enough for a consumer to pay for it out of pocket or should be medically necessary to be covered by Medicare or health insurances.
4. alleviate some of the unique challenges specific to geriatricians.
5. only succeed if the app is executed properly- both from a user perspective and also from integration with the end provider.
Future stages of this project will utilize these tenants to develop an app where patients can monitor all of their chronic conditions with physician oversight, maintain healthy living, and provide key medical and ancillary information to assist in independent living. This is all in an effort to prevent the progression of chronic diseases, improve quality of care and life, and alleviate the burden an aging population will have on society.
Comments
Poster to be presented at GW Annual Research Days 2017.