Is home health technology adequate for proactive self-care?

Objective: To understand whether home health technology in the market and in development can satisfy the needs of patients and their non-professional caregivers for proactive support in managing health and chronic conditions in the home. Methods: A ponel of clinical providers and technology researchers was assembled to examine whether home health technology addresses consumer-defined requirements for self-care devices. A lexicon of home care and self-care technology terms was then created. A global survey of home health technology for patients with heart disease and dementia was conducted. The 254 items identified were categorized by conditions treated, primary user, function, and purpose. A focus group of patients and caregivers was convened to describe their expectations of self-care technology. Items identified in the database were then assessed for these attributes. Results: Patients and family caregivers indicated a need for intelligent self-care technology which supports early diagnosis of health changes, intervention enablement, and improvement of communication quality among patients and the health care system. Of these, only intervention enablement was commonly found in the home health technology items identified. Conclusions: An opportunity exists to meet consumer self-care needs through increased research and development in intelligent self-care technology.