Within the next 25 years, the senior population is expected to increase by 80 percent, more established entrepreneurs and companies are entering the senior care industry. So by the year 2020, the size of the caregiving market opportunity will reach an estimated $72 billion.
The growing population of seniors, far-flung families, rising cost of healthcare and increase in Alzheimer’s disease and dementia is adding the load on the current diminishing army of caregivers. The caregiver support ratio is depleting and so is the number of potential family caregivers to the number of senior citizens in the US. The marketplace has already suffered, industries are losing around $33 billion per year due to employee’s caregiving responsibilities.
Will technology be able to balance this supply/demand conundrum?
Technology is needed more than ever to bridge the gap.
- Solutions that help lighten the stress and workload of unpaid family caregivers.
- Caregivers would rather pay for one tool that does a lot than pay separately for many tools.
- To offer peace of mind is what caregivers want most.
- With many partakers in the circle of care, caregivers seek integrated, multifaceted platforms that help them organize tasks and selectively circulate information.
- Increased IoT devices in healthcare space have made remote monitoring easy, these sensors can alert family members about an emergency or alert the patients to take medicines on time and suggest the right amount for medicine intake.
- The majority of technology functions that family caregivers were most ‘Likely to Use’ relate to access to professionals, personalized guidance from trusted sources, or access to ratings and reviews of providers.
- Many nurses, certified nursing assistants, and other caregivers are attracted to the flexibility that working in the senior care industry can provide.
Despite the lure of significant potential growth in the coming years, the senior care industry also faces a number of challenges. One such-biggest problem facing the senior care industry is attracting and retaining qualified medical professionals to care for patients in their homes.
In these 20 years of timeframe, the agenda of ‘Healthcare For All’ at smartData has groomed with the ever-improving technologies. Technology has grown and we have seen society reaping its benefit. From building digital platforms for matching buyers & suppliers to integrating IoT devices to help in medication and remote diagnosis; technology in healthcare has created value using the platform resources, bringing an end to long queues at hospitals and cutting down the cost to treatment.
Caregivers and baby boomers are using technology for secure assisted living, timely delivery of medication and coordinate tasks effectively. The need is for caregiving organizations and healthcare providers to understand the current caregiving technologies, realizing that a fully engaged system of caregivers and careseekers is necessary.
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