Marcus

A colleague called the other day, asking for help finding care for her brother, who was recently diagnosed with dementia. That’s a common enough request, but this colleague is a doctor, and she had already taken her brother to an elite academic medical center that did lots of tests and offered to enroll him in research studies. That wasn’t the help her brother was looking for, however, or at least not all of it. He wanted to know how long he could keep working, how he should organize his finances, and how long he could live at home as his illness progressed. His physician couldn’t answer those questions and didn’t really know who could.

Animals are often known for their therapeutic benefits, especially within the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs, which promotes service and companion dogs for Veterans. However, some patients may not be able to care for an animal but still need some therapeutic outlet. This is where modern technology shines.

ALBANY, N.Y. (NEWS10) — They are used in nursing homes across the nation, and now the Stratton VA issues them to veterans suffering from dementia. 

What are they?  They are robot cats and dogs.  Each veteran gets their own companion robot, and they get to keep them forever. 

(NBC NEWS) – Jennie has big brown eyes, soft golden fur, and a tail that won’t stop wagging. Scratch behind her floppy ears, and she’ll lean in for more. She even barks on command.

But Jennie’s not a dog. She’s a prototype for Tombot, a puppy-like companion robot being developed by a Santa Clarita, California-based company of the same name as a tool for comforting people with dementia. Tombot is one of a handful of firms working on the next generation of social robots designed with seniors’ needs — and fixed incomes — in mind.

In a recent post by Dr. Michael Hodgkins, AMA’s CMIO, he cited the consumerization of healthcare as one of three digital health trends that are transforming patient care. Earlier this month, Health Affairs analyzed ‘the ups and downs of expecting patients to act as consumers’. Further, the NEJM Catalyst Insights Council revealed that the majority (96 percent) of its members responding to a recent patient engagement survey said the healthcare industry has a lot to learn from consumer-facing industries.