We have been advocates for technology solutions that support the ability of seniors to successfully age in place since we started Senior Care Corner®.
That includes technology that enables family caregivers to provide the level of care they want while still having time to meet their own needs.
We are not advocating technology for the sake of technology, but because we understand there are many things it can do for seniors in making their lives better, some now but even more in coming years.
Not everyone sees that and many tech companies are newcomers to that vision.
Tech Companies ‘Finding’ the Senior Market
When we saw the needs of seniors being overlooked when we would cover CES® each year, we told tech companies they were making a mistake in assuming older adults wouldn’t buy or use their innovations.
So many times we were told by “experts” and family members of seniors that “older adults won’t use smartphones” and more. Now we are hearing just the opposite, which is reflected in surveys — not to mention observation of older adults everywhere we go.
Now even the largest technology companies are recognizing the potential sales they would be missing by not targeting the senior market. Some are designing products for seniors, but many more are realizing that seniors can and will use the same products they developed with younger consumers in mind.
Many of the products and ideas we have seen and heard will provide real benefits to seniors, but others seem to be solutions in search of problems. Not every innovation is successful, of course.
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Some Tech Companies Never Needed to ‘Find’ the Senior Market
There are a number of technology companies that never had to find the senior market or realize older adults have real needs that tech can help them meet.
We have encountered and reported on several of these, smaller companies typically started out of a desire by their founders to solve a problem they observed while caring for, or just being with, older family members.
Theirs are not solutions in search of problems, but products developed as labors of love to solve a real problem.
One such company is MobileHelp®, a Florida-based company that says it is America’s leading provider of mobile personal emergency response technology.
Rather than tell you what they do, we will let you hear them explain in their own words. Five years ago we interviewed Chris Otto, who was MobileHelp’s VP of Product Development at the time and is now Senior VP of the Healthcare Division. You can hear that interview as part of an earlier podcast (also linked below). Chris provided us a great introduction to the company, their approach, and their innovative products.
Since then we have been following MobileHelp, watching as their products and services evolved, including hearing their presentations at CES. When we heard they have an innovative new product for seniors, we reached out to them to learn more.
We are pleased to be able to share with you our recent conversation with Dennis Boyle, MobileHelp’s President and Chief Operating Officer. He caught us up on what they have been doing and introduced us to the MobileHelp Smart, their mobile medical alert system in a smart watch.
We enjoyed speaking with Dennis and appreciate him taking time out of his schedule to educate us — and you — about the MobileHelp Smart.
Links Mentioned in this Episode
- For more information about the MobileHelp Smart and their other devices, visit the MobileHelp website
- MobileHelp Healthcare Solutions website
- To get more information about purchasing a MobileHelp device by phone, call 800-800-1710
- Our earlier conversation with Chris Otto of MobileHelp on the Senior Care Corner Podcast
We hope you enjoyed this episode of the Senior Care Corner Podcast and found the conversation with Dennis to be as informative as we did.