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The Caregiver Innovation Show
Engaging Patients Who Struggle With Tech
The digital healthcare revolution creates a significant divide as tech-savvy patients gain easier access while vulnerable populations face barriers. Voice-based solutions like Addison Care are bridging this gap by adapting to patients instead of forcing patients to adapt to technology.
• Digital health tools often exclude older adults, non-English speakers, and those without reliable internet
• Traditional health apps require smartphones, technical knowledge, and account creation
• Addison Care system uses natural conversation in English or Spanish without complicated interfaces
• Home Wi-Fi adoption is higher among seniors than smartphone ownership
• Voice commands remove hurdles for those uncomfortable with digital interfaces
• Minimal setup required by family members or caregivers
• Advanced technology can paradoxically lead to simpler user experiences
• True innovation might mean making technology disappear through simplicity
If this approach of adapting tech to users makes such a difference in healthcare, where else could we apply that same principle?
Welcome to the Deep Dive. We're looking at a really significant challenge today, as health care goes more digital. Well, how do we make sure everyone's included, especially those not so comfortable with technology?
Speaker 2:Right and our sources. They really highlight this digital divide where you know if you're tech savvy you might actually get well easier access to care.
Speaker 1:And that gap hits certain groups harder, doesn't it? Older adults, people with limited English.
Speaker 2:Communities, maybe without great broadband access, exactly.
Speaker 1:So our mission today is to explore how we can bridge that, and we've got a really interesting approach to focus on.
Speaker 2:We do, and you know. What's striking in the material is how many digital health tools, even with good intentions, end up creating new hurdles. I hope so. Well, think about all the apps, the patient portals. They're convenient for some, sure.
Speaker 1:But they need smartphones. Yeah, they need you to know how to use them.
Speaker 2:And reliable internet, so right away you're excluding people.
Speaker 1:It's a strange situation, isn't it? Like the very folks who could gain so much from remote monitoring.
Speaker 2:Being able to connect with doctors from home, yeah.
Speaker 1:They're often the ones least able to use the tech required.
Speaker 2:Precisely, and that's where this Addison Care system mentioned in our sources. It takes a different path. Okay, how? Instead of making the patient adapt to some, you know, complicated interface?
Speaker 1:Which can be intimidating.
Speaker 2:Totally. The system adapts to the patient. It's designed around their capabilities.
Speaker 1:So what does that look like in practice?
Speaker 2:Well, the key thing is accessibility. It uses natural conversation.
Speaker 1:Just talking to it.
Speaker 2:Yep In plain English or Spanish. No need to download an app or create an account. Navigate tricky touchscreens, none of that.
Speaker 1:Okay, so what do you need then?
Speaker 2:Basically just a home Wi-Fi connection. That's it.
Speaker 1:And focusing on home Wi-Fi. That's important right.
Speaker 2:Our sources pointed that out it really is, because, interestingly, home Wi-Fi adoption is actually higher among older adults than, say, smartphone ownership or even having a computer at home.
Speaker 1:Huh, I wouldn't have necessarily guessed that.
Speaker 2:It suggests that maybe leveraging what people already have like Wi-Fi is a smarter way to reach them than expecting everyone to buy the latest gadget.
Speaker 1:So by using just voice commands natural speech.
Speaker 2:It just removes that massive hurdle for people who find digital interfaces confusing or, frankly, off-putting.
Speaker 1:It makes the tech kind of fade into the background.
Speaker 2:Exactly. The focus is on the health conversation, not figuring out the device. It's genuinely meeting patients where they are technologically speaking.
Speaker 1:And what about family or caregivers? Does it simplify things for them too?
Speaker 2:Yeah, the sources suggest that too. Their main job is really just the initial Wi-Fi setup.
Speaker 1:Getting it connected. Right After that the system's meant to be pretty straightforward for the patient to use on their own. That really brings home how vital thinking about accessibility is when we talk about fair or equitable health care.
Speaker 2:Absolutely, if a system needs you to be digitally literate or own specific devices.
Speaker 1:You're inevitably going to leave vulnerable people behind.
Speaker 2:No question.
Speaker 1:And what I find fascinating, based on our material about AddisonCare, is this idea that really advanced technology it doesn't have to mean a complex experience for the user.
Speaker 2:No, quite the opposite.
Speaker 1:sometimes, Right, like the most sophisticated engineering can actually lead to the simplest, most intuitive way to interact with something.
Speaker 2:That's a really powerful insight. I think it flips the script on the idea that cutting edge has to equal complicated. Yeah True, innovation might just be making the tech disappear, empowering people through sheer simplicity.
Speaker 1:Okay. So, wrapping up this deep dive, here's a thought to leave with this deep dive, here's a thought to leave with. If this approach adapting the tech to the user can make such a difference in healthcare, where else could we apply that same principle? No-transcript.
