Parks Associates continues its ninth-annual Connected Health Summit: Consumer Engagement and Innovation with the virtual session, New Era of Emergency Response and Remote Patient Monitoring, on Tuesday, August 30, from 11:00 AM to 1:30 PM CT. Brock Winzeler, President of Freeus, Becklar Workforce Safety, and Becklar Connected Wellness, Becklar will be featured on the interactive panel Remote Patient Monitoring: Solving Health Issues in Real Time at 11:15 AM CT, which addresses new programs developed around remote patient monitoring, particularly with insights into real time vital sign data and new models to deliver care. Prior to the session, Winzeler provided insights on new opportunities for providers as the use of virtual care services grows.

As the use of telehealth and other virtual care services grows, what challenges do you expect providers to face and what opportunities are there to embrace?

There have been a variety of new entrants in the telehealth, RPM and virtual healthcare space over the last three years. As we’ve had the chance to interact with companies in the industry, we’ve learned that most have underestimated the amount of work required to install services, train patients, and encourage ongoing patient compliance. We believe that there is an opportunity to use technology to improve patient engagement, and that this will result in a higher percentage of successful patient outcomes.

What independent living features are seniors and caregivers looking for in their homes?

The world has changed significantly over the last 25-30 years. It is increasingly less common for adult children to live close to their parents and are less able to provide immediate assistance when needed. For years, caregivers have relied on medical alert buttons to provide the peace of mind that their loved ones will be cared for in case of an emergency. Now in 2022, we are seeing a shift from reactive only services to proactive services. Caregivers and aging adults now also want access to data that will assess overall wellbeing. Connected wellness capabilities such as activity monitoring, engagement tools, medication reminders and location services are in increasingly high demand. The use of these proactive services will help encourage positive behaviors and increase the likelihood of the senior aging at home safely.

Will shifts in consumer behaviors related to fitness, wellness, chronic care management, and care for senior populations outlast the COVID-19 crisis? How can solution providers keep consumers engaged over the long term?

Solution providers need to assess the value created for both the users and the caregiver to ensure that the value created outweighs the effort that is required by both the caregiver and the consumer to successfully participate in the service. A wellness solution that requires too much effort or interaction on part of the user will result in poor engagement and eventual non-use. Simplicity is key. Consumers that are able to engage with a service or solution passively will stay engaged for longer periods.

Sponsored by ADT Medical Alert, Alarm.com, EarlySense, Johnson Controls, Rapid Response Monitoring and Independa, Inc., Connected Health Summit provides industry players with in-depth analysis on the implications of the connected healthcare revolution – and the resulting consumerization of healthcare – for multiple industries.

To register for future Connected Health Summit sessions, visit www.connectedhealthsummit.com.