Taking care of your health is important at any age, but it is especially important as you age.
Some people are fortunate enough not to experience any significant health problems until late in life. The downside, however, is that they may have learned over time to take their health for granted, and so when they experience a significant health problem in their later years, they don’t know what to do.
Others are unfortunate enough to experience health problems early on in their life, as early as childhood. The upside is that they learn from a young age that health is precious, perhaps more precious than anything else, and they learn, too, how to help themselves when they face new health problems.
The first step, typically, when someone encounters a health problem is to contact a doctor. While doctors are undoubtedly essential, taking responsibility for your own health and well-being is just as important.
If you’re in your retirement years, you probably already know how important it is to eat well, exercise, get enough sleep, practise self-care, and monitor yourself for symptoms and changes. Those are all things you can do on your own to stay healthy.
But did you know about healthcare technology, commonly referred to as “HealthTech”?
What Is HealthTech?
HealthTech, in short, refers to any kind of technology—advanced and not-so-advanced—that is intended to improve healthcare at both the individual and collective level. MRI machines are a form of HealthTech. So too are heart monitors.
As HealthTech advances—and it has seen a rapid advancement in the past decade or so—hospitals and other healthcare facilitiesare increasingly embracing all kinds of HealthTech to improve their services and productivity. More specifically, they are embracing software, hardware, and IT tools.
Thanks to HealthTech, the quality and accessibility of healthcare for people of all ages are improving. An elementary student may benefit from HealthTech offered by a nurse at their school. A retiree may benefit from HealthTech offered by a caregiver at the retirement home that they call home.
Personal HealthTech Devices
Personal HealthTechdevices include:
- Continuous blood pressure monitoring devices such as watches and headphones
- Robotic pets
- Electronic allergy relief
- Smart toilet seats
- Intuition robots that initiate conversation with loved ones
- Smart pill medication monitors
- Rehab virtual reality (VR)
- Fall preventing lamp sensors
- Home diagnostic kits
It’s important to note that HealthTech often overlaps with AgeTech.
How Elderly People Can Embrace HealthTech
Not all elderly people are tech-savvy, and many are unsure how to new technological devices to improve their health. It can understandably feel strange to install lamps in your home that turn on when they sense motion to prevent elderly people from falling in the dark and, if they do fall, report the information to health professionals and emergency services including 911.
And not all elderly people would want to have a robot dog to keep them company, either.
Yet there are HealthTech devices that are simple to use and have the potential to radically improve your health, like smart pill dispensers, heart rate monitoring watches, and—yes—even smart toilet seats.
As with all health-related matters, the first step is to talk to your doctor. They may suggest which HealthTech devices could work best for you.
