With aging in place attracting more attention during the pandemic, maintaining human connections and supporting other social determinants of health is now moving to the fore in eldercare, with connected healthcare companies taking the lead on those efforts.
A new example is managed healthcare firm Magellan Healthcare partnering with DUOS digital health for an aging-in-place solution that pairs elders living at home with human helpers called “duos” who help with everything from daily errands to alleviating isolation via digital means.
On Monday (Dec. 20), Magellan Healthcare announced “a program to connect older adults with companionship and care coordination to manage social isolation, healthcare access and behavioral health needs while supporting their independence. This program is offered through a collaboration with DUOS, a digital health company focused on helping older adults stay connected and age independently while easing the strain on caregivers.”
DUOS is a web-based direct-to-consumer startup that matches elder members with personal assistants with whom they interact virtually. The person’s “duo” assists with technology use, errands, transportation, setting up medical appointments and helping the individual with community engagement, while providing a certain amount of social interaction in the process.
Magellan Health Chief Medical Officer Caroline Carney, M.D. said, “Magellan Healthcare is committed to transforming the healthcare experience through high-tech and high-touch solutions that address whole-person healthcare — life, mind and body. We look forward to our collaboration with DUOS, which will allow us to enhance our behavioral health offerings and expand our multi-disciplinary care teams through a personal assistant solution for older adults.”
When DUOS came out of stealth in June with $6 million in seed funding, CEO Karl Ulfers said in a statement, “We recognize that there are millions of older Americans who want to live full lives in their own homes but need assistance with the social determinants of aging (SDoA) that interfere with their independence.”
He added that “At the same time we are tapping into the 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. movement to create a workforce of talented and experienced individuals who we are mobilizing as personal assistants for aging. We are confident that this underutilized workforce will be able to overcome the shortage of paid ‘caregivers’ that exists.”
See also: Aging-in-Place Boom Gives Rise to ‘Age Tech’ and More Connected Home Options for Seniors
Aging at home is poised to undergo significant growth in coming years as baby boomers enter their senior years, and millennials begin making healthcare decisions for aging parents that may become personally relevant to their own aging concerns over time.
The Dec. 7 launch of Amazon’s Alexa Together service using voice to connect aging-in-place elders with loved ones and caregivers is a major indicator that Big Tech sees the commercial potential of aging in place, adding to a list of others currently exploring the space.
See also: Alexa Together Service Debuts, Calling on Advances in Remote Connected Eldercare
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