Dec 24 2015
Accumulating accolades and awards for its innovative approach to caregiving and aging-in-place, Care Angel introduces ANGEL, an intelligent virtual caregiver assistant, and announces its latest honor as winner of the People's Choice Award at the recent Health Tech Conference.
Chosen from among 46 contenders by more than 500 conference attendees that included executives and venture capitalists in the health care tech sector, Care Angel is a unique approach to remote care monitoring technology used to help older adults remain independent, healthy and productive. Care Angel uses an innovative platform based on artificial intelligence (AI) with interactive voice recognition technology that connects to a traditional land-line or cell phone (Think Siri-for-Seniors). The VIP Care service checks in with the senior on a regular basis to check on their well-being, analyze health vitals, report on medication adherence and provide important information on other care activities, all in real-time to empower and ensure family caregivers.
"As the global population ages and older adults live longer, it is more important than ever for payers and elder care experts to join forces to provide smart tools and services to help caregivers take better care of seniors at every stage of care," said Wolf Shlagman, Chief Angel and founder of Care Angel. "At Care Angel, we believe it shouldn't take a 'wake-up call' to galvanize seniors living alone and their families into a flurry of action."
Hosted by HealthTech Capital, the HealthTech Conference brings together thought leaders including providers, payers, technologists, investors and entrepreneurs who are building sustainable scalable businesses to improve quality of care for seniors. This year's conference focused on solutions for consumer vs. patients or as conference organizers described it, "Consumers make health care choices and are not defined by their disease, patients receive care."
"It is my pleasure to award Care Angel the People's Choice Award, a distinction that brings visibility to companies with proven models in innovative health care," said Anne DeGheest, founder of the HealthTech Conference and managing director of HealthTech Capital.
Shlagman, a former telemedicine entrepreneur who sold his last company to a Kleiner Perkins' Portfolio Company Teladoc (TDOC), along with his partner Jason Hendeles, realized firsthand the challenges of caring for older loved ones long-distance, which became their inspiration to create Care Angel. He advised that many seniors do not have much assistance to age-in-place. A serious flu, a fall, a fracture or an adverse reaction to medication can turn lives upside down. Shlagman understands the fear older people live with everyday which is also a fear for their families.
The Care Angel patent-pending Smart Care 3.0 platform combines the latest technologies in remote monitoring, AI, voice recognition and mobile care management all backed by evidence-based science and methodologies to deliver a higher-touch, yet lower tech caregiving model. By infusing gamification, psychology and behavioral economics, Care Angel offers what Shlagman terms a "whole-listic," engaging virtual caregiver assistant called ANGEL -- (A)automated, i(N)telligent monitorin(G), car(E)giving p(L)atform – that not only helps keep seniors healthier and happier but maximizes the time family members spend to ensure the safety and independence of their loved one.
ANGEL offers a voice-guided empathetic conversation with seniors while giving real-time reports on health information status to invited family members all by having the senior use a familiar technology – a simple land-line phone or cell phone. Care Angel's VIP Care Service collects and analyzes the senior's metadata through a proprietary care analytics dashboard. The data is instantly shared privately with families and streamlines the communication to multiple family members and caregivers. The real-time in-depth health data and instant access to elder care information empowers caregivers rather than just providing passive monitoring for potential health risks such as falls or medication compliance.
Dr. Linda Rhodes, Care Angel's chief caregiving officer as well as a celebrated author and former Secretary of Aging for Pennsylvania, explained Care Angel reduces phone tag between seniors and family members without invading the senior's sense of freedom or privacy.
"Care Angel personalizes the care experience and removes the stigma for seniors of being 'watched over' – it's analogous to Siri for seniors," said Dr. Rhodes.
Currently, there are more than 73 million caregivers in North America, including those in the Sandwich Generation who are caring for both children and aging parents, have harried lifestyles and juggle work with caregiving. Pew Research reports 10,000 baby boomers turn 65 every day creating a growing silver tsunami of having more parents to care for than children. Since 8 million Americans are caring for a parent from a distance and AARP reports 89 percent of those over age 65 want to continue living independently at home, aging-in-place is the perfect storm of a growing caregiver crisis. Care Angel is the answer to this global caregiving challenge.
Care Angel, a free app and service, will launch in Canada next month quickly followed by the U.S. market in early 2016. Nominal subscription or paid services will become available in various Care Angel versions in 2016.
During its preview to industry analysts and insiders, Care Angel has been acknowledged as an innovative concept that will revolutionize caregiving and aging-in-place for the senior population. In addition to the Health Tech Conference People's Choice Award, Care Angel also won the iThrive Innovation Challenge sponsored by the eHealth Initiative, a Shark Tank-style live pitch with prestigious C-suite level judges from Accenture, American Medical Association, Cerner, Mayo Clinic and United Healthcare among others. Care Angel was also a finalist in both the Louisville Innovation Summit and Aging 2.0's Pitch for Pilots, both premier gatherings that collectively reach more than a thousand executives, health systems and entrepreneurs from around the world focused on the future of aging care.
Source: http://www.careangel.com