PPE, UNIFORMS & STAFF WEARABLES
monitor for changes in movement and alert their care provider if they have a fall. This would then be recorded alongside information relating to their heart rate, their motions, and how long ago the incident happened.
Beyond capturing immediate clinical indicators and events, connecting other devices can contribute to building a better understanding of an individual’s health. For example, monitoring a simple SMART plug on a kettle can yield valuable data about a person’s wellbeing, giving insights into their hydration levels, activity in the house, mobility, and routine.
Put simply, the more data that is available, the easier it will be for care providers to tailor unique care plans to their customers to ensure that they are receiving truly individualised, person-centred care.
The social care sector is in its infancy when it comes to adopting technology and the Internet of Things is no exception. It is to be expected that natural barriers to adoption will become clearer as new technologies develop. As such there will surely be a point when providers need to be sensitive around issues of privacy and anonymity within their data. Data security is paramount to the sector, and this should not change as the technology evolves. This is aſter all not a matter of surveillance but a measure of increasing quality of care.
To alleviate these concerns, there should be serious consideration of safeguarding and data privacy policies around all implementations of IoT-enabled devices. There are few things in life more private and sensitive than the health and wellbeing of an individual, and this understanding should extend to the use of technology across the sector. At everyLIFE Technologies, this is crucially important to us and we maintain stringent data privacy policies as a result. Indeed, we have recently become a ‘Quality Partner’ with the Professional Record Standards Body (PRSB), a non-profit organisation that develops care record standards to ensure consistency across the industry. Through this partnership, and other initiatives, we are working hard to create a safer environment for data security in the health and social care sector.
supercharge their care provision and so discussions around increased use of technology should start now.
Wearable devices are one way in which IoT could significantly enhance people’s individual experiences of care. Wearables such as fitness bands, glucometers, and monitoring cuffs for blood pressure and heart rate, provide unique, personalised, and regular data about an individual’s health in real-time. They can also monitor activity levels, calorie counts, hydration levels, mobility and activity on a daily basis. With an IoT-based solution, these wearables could connect with other devices, such as sensors around the house, to give a holistic view of an individual’s health.
The benefits of recording data in this way are significant. For instance, if someone is at increased risk of a fall, PASS could
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Affordability is another potential barrier for social care to embrace new technological innovations. For many care providers, the prospect of making use of wearables and other digital devices is one that is simply too expensive to consider. However, as the sector advances and these devices become more commonplace, costs are expected to come down considerably. Recognising this trajectory, the social care sector should be hopeful that market forces will prevent affordability becoming a persistent challenge. In the long run, IoT-enabled devices could even reduce care costs by maximising efficiency in care planning for specific needs.
Whatever the future holds, Covid-19 has shown us that now is the time to embrace technology and the unprecedented potential that innovation can deliver. The social care sector’s proud tradition of collaboration and innovation should continue to explore new solutions and help to drive up standards of care across the country. By truly embracing the value of technological advances, it’s clear that the Internet of Things could well become the next frontier for social care.
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