HITLAB conducted a study in 2015 among U.S. family caregivers, revealing the limited use of technology in unassisted home care.  The most accessible technologies for home care include scheduling, organization, refilling and delivering medications, and monitoring equipment.  While 71 percent of caregivers are interested in using technology to support their caregiving duties, only 7 percent have actually used such technology.

In order to adopt more of these technologies in their homes, caregivers ultimately need to see firsthand how the technology can make their lives easier and even more fulfilling.   Most in-home medical devices require a considerable commitment of time and money.  But if they can ultimately prove valuable in every home care, then caregivers may be willing to shift their resources.

Caregivers are reportedly most interested in technologies that help with medication refills and delivers, making and supervising medical appointments, assessing health needs, ensuring home safety, medication monitoring, checking in on care recipients, and managing the stress and emotional needs of the caregiver.  It’s incumbent upon home care agencies to facilitate smoother adoption of such technologies, in order to help sustain the quality of life for the care recipient and the caregiver.