AARP today announced a collaboration with technology company Orbita Inc. to study new digital approaches for remote patient monitoring and for reducing social isolation. The work will guide ongoing development of solutions providing intuitive in-home access to information and tools to improve self-care among adults. Research shows that health outcomes improve when patients more fully engage in their own care. Yet some of today’s digital health solutions fail to deliver true engagement, especially for those unable to use smartphones or tablets, AARP said in a release. “Digital assistants can provide greetings and positive affirmations and, beyond this, deliver daily reminders to take medications and perform important care tasks,” said Andy Miller, AARP senior vice president of innovation and product development. “This can impact disease awareness, treatment adherence, clinical data accuracy and other metrics related to quality and cost of care.” Joint projects are being coordinated at the AARP innovation lab based in Washington, D.C. To read a March 2017 Notebook item by Joe Gardyasz about AARP’s innovation lab, click here.
