You would think that technology has helped to deal with most of the problems that elderly people face in highly-developed societies. That is true to a certain extent. However, seniors still face different subtleties when it comes to getting medical aid or supervision nowadays.
In this article, we will explore why senior care is such a significant sector worldwide. We will do that using Germany as an example. This country will serve as a great example due to the high quality of healthcare and a decent level of life provided for senior citizens.
Among other things, we will describe additional needs an average senior person has that can be addressed with technology.
Subsequently, we will delve deeper into how healthtech addresses some of the challenges and identify the current industry leaders.
The State of Global and German Senior Care Market
Currently, Germany is one of the five “super-aged” societies in the world. In 2018, it was the first year in history where the number of elderly people outnumbered children. Researchers predict that by 2050, seniors will account for 22% of the global population. Germany’s population aged 65 and older is expected to increase by 41% to 24 million by 2050.
Approximately 80% of seniors (aged 65 and above) have at least one chronic condition, such as heart disease or diabetes. If left untreated, these conditions can often result in frequent hospital admissions. Furthermore, social isolation and related mental health issues are not uncommon among the elderly.
That’s one of the primary reasons the tech market for seniors is looking promising for investors. How big is the market potential?
Consumer technology for the seniors market is estimated at $30B (2022) — a lucrative opportunity for investors, to say the least.
Numerous companies are dedicated to making elderly care more accessible and improving the safety of seniors. They address different issues from various perspectives. In the next chapter, we will highlight the main areas being addressed.
The Areas to Address
Mental health
Aging oftentimes is correlated with change of social roles. Relationships within family and friends tend to change, and deteriorating physical health can bring about additional barriers.
As a result, mental health among seniors becomes increasingly vulnerable. About 15% of seniors suffer from mental health disorders, and another 15% are at risk of experiencing clinically significant symptoms of depression.
This highlights the importance of prioritizing mental health care for older adults, which is no less important than physical health. Therefore, access to mental health services is an area that requires significant attention.
While healthtech continues to improve over time, the incidence of mental disabilities among seniors has remained relatively stable over the past three decades. Addressing this issue may require more time and effort.
Limited Access to Health Services
Older adults often face more challenges when it comes to accessing health services. This is due to several factors, including limited income combined with insurance absences or limitations, reduced overall mobility, residing in rural or remote areas, and lower health-related quality of life, to name a few.
If we are speaking about Germany, some of these factors could be neglected to a certain extent. For instance, only 7 percent of older people experienced cost-related access. The vast majority (81 percent) of Germans aged 65+ receive healthcare either the same day or the day after they request it.
However, the other limitations, unfortunately, seem to stay in place.
E-health is often the solution to improving access to efficient care for older adults. Research shows that the adoption of information and communication technology by older adults is increasing and is perceived as positive and essential to their everyday lives.
Despite the availability and potential benefits that e-health brings to older adults, there are still barriers to overcome.
Let’s explore the technologies that address the needs of elderly citizens worldwide.
Technologies that address the needs of seniors
Devices that Extend the Availability of Care Providers
We are referring to smart homes and connected devices. Controlling lighting, heating, and air conditioning with voice commands could be very beneficial for assisted living communities.
Smart home technologies allow residents of senior care facilities to have more flexibility and an effortless daily routine. Taking advantage of voice commands eases the pressure off nursing staff.
Seniors can also adopt these technologies in their individual homes, of course.
Elinext has delivered several solutions like this one for the real estate industry. We can say that those solutions would merge with the healthcare sector as well.
Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR)
Virtual and augmented reality tools help patients with physical fitness, therapy, and rehab. They also have the potential to assist doctors and nurses in assessing the risks of their patients.
VR is widely used for chronic pain reduction. The calming landscape with green grass and blue sky combined with pleasant birds chirping and tweeting and bubbling water can have more than just a therapeutic effect.
Older adults can take advantage of VR to get to places currently or permanently unavailable to the,
Research data confirms that engaging in these virtual experiences on a regular basis improves older adults’ well-being.
Wearables and Fitness Trackers
The smartwatch is a device that facilitates heart monitoring, allowing elderly care facilities to closely monitor the health of their patients. This technology provides predictive analytics capabilities that can assist with managing chronic conditions in older adults.
Wearable applications can also aid healthcare providers in monitoring blood pressure, addressing minor concerns, and preventing them from developing into life-threatening situations.
Providing wearables to elderly individuals is an opportunity that should not be overlooked. These technologies can ultimately help healthcare providers meet the increasing demand for quality care.
Elinext is no stranger to delivering IoT software solutions for various industries, including automotive, entertainment, and, certainly, healthcare.
Centering Alzheimer’s Care with Camera Technology
There is a company titled SafelyYou that offers an artificial intelligence-powered camera system to provide fall detection for people with dementia, such as Alzheimer’s disease.
As it is HIPAA- and GDPR-compliant, video is only captured and shared with families and caregivers when a fall occurs, and virtually serves as an extra set of eyes to assist with the evaluation of falls.
According to George Netscher, CEO of SafelyYou, patients with Alzheimer’s go to the ground and sometimes don’t know that they’re on the ground, and they can’t advocate for themselves”.
The service is mostly used in assisted living or skilled nursing communities.
State of Elderly Care in Germany
We decided to have a look at the current leaders in the field of Germany-based elder care:
pflege.de is a service portal for care and housing for the elderly.
Seniovo supports elderly people with barrier-free structural alteration measures.
Pflegix, is an online marketplace for finding helpers.
Alloheim Senioren-Residenzen provides old-age home care facilities. It provides nursing home services, stationary care, and ambulatory care.
VHW is a community that renders senior living, nursing care, and carefree retirement living services.
Those are just a few examples of well-established businesses for elderly people that utilize technologies to help seniors with their current needs.
Seems like the sector has several gaps you can tackle if you have the ambition to contribute to the good cause as the demand is growing, according to statistics,
In December 2021, 4.96 million people in Germany were in need of long-term care as defined by the Long-Term Care Insurance Act. The Federal Statistical Office (Destatis) also reports that the number of people in need of long-term care amounted to 4.13 million in December 2019.
So the stats do not show the critical raise, but it is substantial nonetheless. as a partial response to that, there is a growing number of tech companies entering the market.
If you’re considering trying your luck entering this market, there is no better software development and consulting partner than Elinext. Contact us to get a free quote.
Conclusion
It is a common fact that in Germany, the majority of the population, including the elderly is funded by a public health care insurance system.
The tech presence in the sectors becomes more and more touchable. For instance, according to German care-tech provider Media4Care, digital care of senior citizens using tablets has already been deployed in every third home for senior citizens in Germany. Which is quite impressive. Also, it is the data from 2019, so the numbers have probably been boosted at the moment. Worldwide, over 40,000 senior citizens were already using the so-called Digital Health Start-Up service (2019).
Sustainable elderly care becomes increasingly challenging in a rapidly aging world. Being the third oldest nation globally, Germany is facing significant societal changes and demographic pressures.
Germany’s efforts to withstand the continuously increasing aging shift and propose how a novel community care system can be implemented to successfully prepare Germany for looking after its elderly population.
With many countries facing similar issues, we see that Germany is the one that is addressing the issues of elderly people with all seriousness, and allows the tech sector to grow. Let us know if you want to jump on the tech bandwagon and create potentially profitable software for elderly people, we’d be happy to help you with creating such pieces of software.
