news
Virtual connections to
boost health in seniors
Photo: Gabriel Health Systems
Communication and monitoring
technology will be piloted in
Victorian homes to enable
older people to remain
independent for longer.
M
ore than 30,000 Victorians will
take part in a pilot of a new
program that aims to virtually
connect families and help older people
to maintain their normal routines as
they age.
Pilot participants will receive a
custom-developed tablet connected to a
communications platform. Users can click
on a photo of a family member to create
a video link. Similarly, loved ones can use
their smartphones and tablets to touch
base with older relatives by activating a
video link without their involvement.
The platform will also include video
software, motion detectors, voice
recognition and artificial intelligence to
monitor for any adverse situation, enabling
assistance or intervention.
Online workforce platforms
are ‘game changers’
New web-based marketplaces
will allow more people
to age in place.
M
inister for aged care Ken
Wyatt has opened the new
headquarters of an online
marketplace that connects workers
with clients.
The Better Caring platform supports
people with a disability or those who are
ageing to find and hire local care and
support workers.
Peter Scutt, founder of Better Caring,
said the company partners with approved
Terry Crews, founder of Gabriel Health
Systems, the health technology company
behind the platform and pilot, said the
trial will not only enable seniors to remain
independent at home for longer, but
also stick to their normal routines to help
prevent loneliness.
“Our technology provides a simple
means to create the virtual family
connection and in a non-invasive
way detect any changes to health and
wellbeing,” Crews said.
“Family connections have been
shown in countless research papers to
dramatically improve health outcomes
and [this] leads to a much better quality
of life.”
Victorian minister for small business,
innovation and trade, Philip Dalidakis,
said the technology has the potential
to improve health outcomes for ageing
populations worldwide, reducing
healthcare costs across the globe.
The pilot is set to take place in
30,000 homes across metropolitan and
regional areas and will begin to roll out
from August. ■
providers who will host and administer
a client’s home care package. The
consumer is free to choose and schedule
workers according to their needs and
preferences.
Wyatt said new workforce systems
like this will be a game changer,
allowing people to remain at home longer
while providing more flexibility than
ever before.
“This site is a prime example of the
power of technology to directly connect
people and services,” he said.
Over 20,000 people have signed up to
the platform.
COTA Australia chief executive Ian
Yates said the rapid growth of Better
Caring underlines the preference of many
consumers for self-managed packages of
support and care at home, and government
policy needs to support and enable this.
“Self-managed home care packages mean
that consumers can arrange services that
best meet their needs, when and where they
want, and also purchase significantly more
hours of care and support from workers who
they know and trust,” Yates said.
Scutt added: “What we are trying to do
here is spark a new conversation about
ageing in place and develop products
which put choice and control back in the
hands of the consumer and worker.” ■
agedcareinsite.com.au
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