As the world is rapidly becoming an aging society, the number of seniors is increasing whereas the percentage of the younger generation is relatively decreasing. Since the average lifespan increased, there are more and more elders who are in need of a health care system. However, quite an amount of seniors hesitate or cannot ask help to their families, therefore, they have no choice except asking for commercial cares to institutions. However, the services that these institutions offer act as a high-cost barrier to the elders sometimes, which only a few elders can afford to pay the services. Moreover, many elders have difficulties visiting institutions because of their reduced mobility. Meanwhile, triggered by the advanced technology and society, the awareness and desire of quality of life have increased, and growing demand for it has significantly increased. Instead of visiting nursing institutions, seniors want to maintain their existing lifestyle and remain lively.
In accordance with this trend, many tech companies are introducing optimized home-care solutions, which help the elders stay in their houses longer. A tech company 24eight, based in the US, developed smart slippers that check pressure and stride of the elders’ footsteps and detect any health problems (Soonyoung Myeong, 2018). SK Telecom, one of the major telecommunication companies in Korea, is planning to create a new business model on ‘IoT-based caring services for the elder’, which includes technologies such as refrigerator which sends an alert to a security company when it was not opened for a couple days (Hyo Suk, 2018). This may support the elders who live alone.
The objectives of the solutions are to allow the elders remain independent and maintain their existing lifestyle; to advance the elder’s quality of life and to reduce the pressure on services; to help the elders stay in their homes longer and increase the safety of each individual.
So, how will the elderly healthcare industry change with regards to home-care? 24eight and SK Telecom could come up with the IoT solutions by cooperating with companies in other industries, respectively AT&T, a telecommunication company in the US, and ADT Caps, a security company. And the collaborations are more likely focusing on the security sector. This trend can also be found in many other companies, such as Google taking over Dropcam in 2014, a security equipment manufacturing company, and Amazon acquiring Ring in February 2018, a global home security company. Therefore, we can draw a conclusion that security is the key factor in elderly home-care. We can assume that more business collaborations will happen between tech companies and security companies, maintaining their existing lifestyle and enhancing the quality of the elders’ golden years.
References
Hyo Suk, Y., 2018. Business Watch. [Online]
Available at: http://news.bizwatch.co.kr/article/mobile/2018/05/22/0004/naver
[Accessed: 10th October 2018].
Soonyoung Myeong, K. N., 2018. Maekyung Economy. [Online]
Available at: http://news.mk.co.kr/v2/economy/view.php?year=2018&no=393894#
[Accessed 10 10 2018].
Media
eldersoutreach.org
