As healthcare and medical technologies continue to develop, the average human lifespan grows longer and the percentage of the world’s population over the age of 60 continues to rise. Here, Maryland elder law attorney Douglas C. Lauenstein discusses how strides in artificial intelligence are transforming elder care and steadily improving the quality of life of our senior population.

How Have Trends in Elderly Populations Changed Over the Years?

The exponential increase in elderly populations will undoubtedly impact our world economically, politically and socially. It is estimated that, from the year 2000 to the year 2050, the number of individuals over the age of 80 will quadruple and the percentage of the world’s population over the age of 60 will reach two billion. While this trend is especially significant in growing economies such as Japan, China and some countries in Europe, the trend is being experienced everywhere. The tremendous growth in the percentage of adults over 60 demonstrates how rapid development and implementation of artificial intelligence is transforming the medical and geriatric industries.

How Is AI Impacting Elder Care?

This growth of our world’s senior population can be attributed to improvements in many aspects of society and the medical industry, but artificial intelligence, or AI, undoubtedly plays a major role in the vast improvement of elder care. AI plays a critical role in almost every step of elder care, from early disease detection, to intelligent tracking to treatment. AI and robotics are also at the heart of diagnosis, treatment, medical research and training, medical decision-making and even end-of-life care. 

There is an extensive list of ways AI is currently revolutionizing elder care and our population’s increase in overall lifespan and quality of life. Specifically, at-home health monitoring has the ability to track a patient’s behavior and activity to observe changes and detect early signs of health issues in the elderly. Biotricity, which is a medical diagnostic and healthcare technology company that implements AI in remote patient monitoring and care, and CarePredict, which tracks changes in patient activity patterns to encourage quick diagnoses, are just a few of the many forward-thinking technologies taking over elder care. In addition to at-home health monitoring is the development of assisted daily living and fall detection technologies that can catch changes in biometric data, falls, inconsistencies in patient behavior and more. Companies like Apple and Fitbit are developing technological devices that can detect and track health issues in the elderly via wearable trackers. These innovative, new AI devices only scratch the surface of the changes that are coming in technology and elder care.

How Can Elder Care Attorney Douglas C. Lauenstein Help?

Elder law attorney Douglas C. Lauenstein has extensive experience in handling elder law matters including estate planning, nursing home planning and disability planning, and is dedicated to helping his clients make choices that maximize their post-retirement life. If you would like to discuss your elder care concerns and needs with elder law attorney Douglas C. Lauenstein, contact The Law Offices of Douglas C. Lauenstein today.