 |
Lifeline Systems, Inc. was founded in Boston, MA in 1974 by gerontologist Andrew S. Dibner and his wife, sociologist Susan S. Dibner.
| |
Lifeline Systems, Inc. was founded in Boston, MA in 1974 by gerontologist Andrew S. Dibner and his wife, sociologist Susan S. Dibner.
Dibner, a psychology professor at Boston University, was on sabbatical at Duke University in 1972 when he conceived the idea that, if an elderly or disabled person falls and/or needs help, it could be of life-saving benefit to have a technology in their home that could summon an ambulance for them – even if they could not get to a phone. [1]
On Nov. 2, 1974, Dibner filed his initial patent entitled "Automatic Alarm System" and the U.S. patent #3,989,900 was awarded Nov. 2, 1976. Other patents followed. The wireless push-button-activated automatic alarm system became known as “Personal Emergency Response Service (PERS)” and Lifeline Systems Inc. grew to provide PERS across the United States and Canada. [2] Dibner is considered to be the father of PERS in the United States. [3]
In 1975, Lifeline Systems Inc., together with Hebrew Rehabilitation Center for Aged in Roslindale, MA and the Boston University Gerontology Center, received a grant from the National Center for Health Services Research to test the efficacy of PERS. The report, [4] which compared older persons living alone with PERS and a control group, showed important reductions in the need for nursing home days along with enhanced quality of life and savings in the cost of health care.
L. Dennis Shapiro, [5] joined the company in the fall of 1978 as CEO (1978–88) and Chairman (1978–2006). He attracted venture financing and initiated product redesign embodying new patents. [6] Marketing was directed to hospitals and other healthcare organizations which began to include PERS as a component of outreach and community wellness. In these early years, each hospital operated its own call center at a place that had 24×7 coverage, such as the switchboard or the emergency room. Lifeline Systems provided call center equipment, subscriber units and training of installer and monitoring personnel. [7]
At the time of its IPO in 1983, Lifeline Systems reported programs at 528 hospitals and other healthcare providers, and had shipped 21,931 subscriber units. [8] To service growth, Lifeline developed high-capacity PERS call center technology and offered central monitoring to its customers. [7] Arthur Phipps became CEO 1989–1992. In 1991 Lifeline Systems received the Shingo Prize for Operational Excellence. [9] Ron Feinstein was CEO 1993–2006, a period of internal growth complemented by acquisitions.
Lifeline Systems, Inc. was acquired by Royal Philips Electronics in 2006, at which time it reported PERS programs with 2,500 healthcare providers across the United States and Canada, and central monitoring of close to 470,000 subscribers. [10] The merger took place on March 23, 2006. [11]
In 1986, the first Charles A. Dana Foundation awards were announced. Andrew and Susan Dibner were awarded a Commendation for "Pioneering Achievement in Health for their Lifeline System of Personal Emergency Response, now bringing greater safety and serenity to 100,000 elderly or disabled people living alone; a creative integration of technology and community that may presage other responses to the needs of an aging population." [12]
Dibner and Shapiro established the non-profit American Lifeline Institute in 1986. [13] Its initial project was to sponsor the First International Symposium on Emergency Response Services for Frail Person Living Alone, Washington, DC, May 31 – June 2, 1990. Papers were presented by representatives from 12 countries reporting on the state and status of PERS. [14] [15]
Koninklijke Philips N.V., commonly shortened to Philips, is a Dutch multinational conglomerate corporation that was founded in Eindhoven in 1891. Since 1997, its world headquarters have been situated in Amsterdam, though the Benelux headquarters is still in Eindhoven. The company gained its royal honorary title in 1998.
The healthcare industry is an aggregation and integration of sectors within the economic system that provides goods and services to treat patients with curative, preventive, rehabilitative, and palliative care. It encompasses the creation and commercialization of products and services conducive to the preservation and restoration of well-being. The contemporary healthcare sector comprises three fundamental facets, namely services, products, and finance. It can be further subdivided into numerous sectors and categories and relies on interdisciplinary teams of highly skilled professionals and paraprofessionals to address the healthcare requirements of both individuals and communities.
The Veterans Health Administration (VHA) is the component of the United States Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) led by the Under Secretary of Veterans Affairs for Health that implements the healthcare program of the VA through a nationalized healthcare service in the United States, providing healthcare and healthcare-adjacent services to veterans through the administration and operation of 146 VA Medical Centers (VAMC) with integrated outpatient clinics, 772 Community Based Outpatient Clinics (CBOC), and 134 VA Community Living Centers Programs. It is the largest division in the department, and second largest in the entire federal government, employing over 350,000 employees. All VA hospitals, clinics and medical centers are owned by and operated by the Department of Veterans Affairs, and all of the staff employed in VA hospitals are federal employees. Because of this, veterans that qualify for VHA healthcare do not pay premiums or deductibles for their healthcare but may have to make copayments depending on the medical procedure. VHA is not a part of the US Department of Defense Military Health System.
Telehealth is the distribution of health-related services and information via electronic information and telecommunication technologies. It allows long-distance patient and clinician contact, care, advice, reminders, education, intervention, monitoring, and remote admissions. Telemedicine is sometimes used as a synonym, or is used in a more limited sense to describe remote clinical services, such as diagnosis and monitoring. When rural settings, lack of transport, a lack of mobility, conditions due to outbreaks, epidemics or pandemics, decreased funding, or a lack of staff restrict access to care, telehealth may bridge the gap as well as provide distance-learning; meetings, supervision, and presentations between practitioners; online information and health data management and healthcare system integration. Telehealth could include two clinicians discussing a case over video conference; a robotic surgery occurring through remote access; physical therapy done via digital monitoring instruments, live feed and application combinations; tests being forwarded between facilities for interpretation by a higher specialist; home monitoring through continuous sending of patient health data; client to practitioner online conference; or even videophone interpretation during a consult.
Telenursing refers to the use of information technology in the provision of nursing services whenever physical distance exists between patient and nurse, or between any number of nurses. As a field, it is part of telemedicine, and has many points of contacts with other medical and non-medical applications, such as telediagnosis, teleconsultation, and telemonitoring. The field, however, is still being developed as the information on telenursing isn't comprehensive enough.
Telecare is technology-based healthcare such as the monitoring of patient vital organs so that they may remain safe and independent in their own homes. Devices may include health and fitness apps, such as exercise tracking tools and digital medication reminder apps, or technologies that issue early warning and detection. The use of sensors may be part of a package which can provide support for people with illnesses such as dementia, or people at risk of falling.
Life Alert Emergency Response, Inc., known as life alert, is a nationwide American device service company, with headquarters in Encino, California, USA, which provides services that help young and old elderly people contact emergency services. The company was founded in 1987. The company's system consists of a main unit and a small wireless help button that is worn by the user at all times. Former Surgeon General C. Everett Koop appeared in commercials for Life Alert starting in 1992, stating that he used one. He remained a spokesman for the company until his death in 2013.
A medical alarm is an alarm system designed to signal the presence of a hazard requiring urgent attention and to summon emergency medical personnel. Other terms for a medical alarm are Personal Emergency Response System (PERS) or medical alert. It is especially important to recognize the need to respond to situations where the person is unable to summon help.
The Massachusetts health care reform, commonly referred to as Romneycare, was a healthcare reform law passed in 2006 and signed into law by Governor Mitt Romney with the aim of providing health insurance to nearly all of the residents of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
The North West Ambulance Service NHS Trust (NWAS) is the ambulance service for North West England. It is one of ten ambulance trusts providing England with Emergency medical services, and is part of the National Health Service, receiving direct government funding for its role.
Health policy can be defined as the "decisions, plans, and actions that are undertaken to achieve specific healthcare goals within a society". According to the World Health Organization, an explicit health policy can achieve several things: it defines a vision for the future; it outlines priorities and the expected roles of different groups; and it builds consensus and informs people.
Home automation for the elderly and disabled focuses on making it possible for older adults and people with disabilities to remain at home, safe and comfortable. Home automation is becoming a viable option for older adults and people with disabilities who would prefer to stay in the comfort of their homes rather than move to a healthcare facility. This field uses much of the same technology and equipment as home automation for security, entertainment, and energy conservation but tailors it towards old people and people with disabilities.
Disaster medicine is the area of medical specialization serving the dual areas of providing health care to disaster survivors and providing medically related disaster preparation, disaster planning, disaster response and disaster recovery leadership throughout the disaster life cycle. Disaster medicine specialists provide insight, guidance and expertise on the principles and practice of medicine both in the disaster impact area and healthcare evacuation receiving facilities to emergency management professionals, hospitals, healthcare facilities, communities and governments. The disaster medicine specialist is the liaison between and partner to the medical contingency planner, the emergency management professional, the incident command system, government and policy makers.
mHealth is an abbreviation for mobile health, a term used for the practice of medicine and public health supported by mobile devices. The term is most commonly used in reference to using mobile communication devices, such as mobile phones, tablet computers and personal digital assistants (PDAs), and wearable devices such as smart watches, for health services, information, and data collection. The mHealth field has emerged as a sub-segment of eHealth, the use of information and communication technology (ICT), such as computers, mobile phones, communications satellite, patient monitors, etc., for health services and information. mHealth applications include the use of mobile devices in collecting community and clinical health data, delivery/sharing of healthcare information for practitioners, researchers and patients, real-time monitoring of patient vital signs, the direct provision of care as well as training and collaboration of health workers.
AlarmForce Industries Inc. is a Toronto-based home security and home automation systems manufacturer and provider. AlarmForce operates in the residential and commercial security segment.
A Safety confirmation system is a way of determining each day whether someone who lives alone is safe. All the person has to do is to press, before a time agreed with him or her, an 'I am okay' button on a special landline or mobile phone handset that can also be used normally to make calls. The button-press is transmitted to a monitoring centre and managed automatically. A follow-up system is initiated if a user fails to confirm that they are okay. If the button is not pressed by the agreed time it can be taken as a passive request for contact.
Remote patient monitoring (RPM) is a technology to enable monitoring of patients outside of conventional clinical settings, such as in the home or in a remote area, which may increase access to care and decrease healthcare delivery costs. RPM involves the constant remote care of patients by their physicians, often to track physical symptoms, chronic conditions, or post-hospitalization rehab.
Teladoc Health, Inc. is a multinational telemedicine and virtual healthcare company headquartered in the United States. Primary services include telehealth, medical opinions, AI and analytics, telehealth devices and licensable platform services. In particular, Teladoc Health uses telephone and videoconferencing software as well as mobile apps to provide on-demand remote medical care.
Medical Guardian is an American personal emergency response systems (PERS) provider headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The company has appeared in Inc. Magazine's list of 5000 fastest-growing U.S. companies nine years in a row from 2013 to 2021.
The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted hospitals around the world. Many hospitals have scaled back or postponed non-emergency care. This has medical consequences for the people served by the hospitals, and it has financial consequences for the hospitals. Health and social systems across the globe are struggling to cope. The situation is especially challenging in humanitarian, fragile and low-income country contexts, where health and social systems are already weak. Health facilities in many places are closing or limiting services. Services to provide sexual and reproductive health care risk being sidelined, which will lead to higher maternal mortality and morbidity. The pandemic also resulted in the imposition of COVID-19 vaccine mandates in places such as California and New York for all public workers, including hospital staff.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link)