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One of the things I hear quite frequently from people considering TaskAssure is: 

"Even though I want better information about tasks being performed for me, I am concerned that my helper will be offended if I ask them to let me monitor their work with TaskAssure. How can I approach them?"

After talking with so many people on the subject, I hope you will find this article useful when considering how to handle this potentially challenging situation.

I'm proud of U.S. companies for recognizing the need for innovations that can help us care for our seniors. Active Lifestyles Magazine released a video recently highlighting a few of the latest products to help people care for seniors. These are cool ideas that demonstrate the potential benefits combining imagination with technology.

Through our interaction with users, we often hear great ideas that people are trying to keep informed about services they have arranged, when they won't be there to watch. As you know, that's a problem that TaskAssure solves (very well, we think!). In this brief article, I will share five no-cost ideas we have seen people use. 

[June 30, 2014 1000 EDT] The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) today released its decision on a landmark case concerning whether or not people acting as caregivers (including family members of children with disabilities) can be forced to pay union dues, solely because they receive caregiving funds from the State. Since I am generally in favor of transparency and accountability, I applaud the SCOTUS decision as a win for common sense. 

With all the reports in recent weeks regarding the many veterans that were denied care (report: 120,000 veterans on wait list for more than 90 days) and those that died waiting (report: veterans die waiting for care), I can't help speaking up that we simply must acknowledge the bad outcomes large bureaucracies seem to be capable of and even promote.

All of us seem to have a busy life. For some, it is raising a family and all that that entails. For others, it may be doing well in school so they can begin their career. Still others have a demanding job, and perhaps some extra stress deciding if the path they are on is actually the right one. The list goes on... but from what I see, even those that retire are quite busy. Be sure and stop and smell the roses as often as possible - whatever your "roses" may be.

I am often asked by family and friends "which type of mobile phone should I buy"? (Or for that matter, which computer?) They consider me a technology insider and so they hope to get an answer. In many cases (especially for the older folks) they do not even know at the highest level what the difference is between an iphone and an Android. I've been asked on numerous occasions, "which one is a smart phone?". (My answer: A smart phone is simply a mobile phone that allows us to download programs (called "apps") from various companies that can do interesting, useful, or fun things on our device. Both Androids and iPhones are smart phones.) If they aren't even sure what a smart phone is, perhaps that gives a clue to their ability to understand which is a better buy for them. So, I'm going to get "real" here, even if it does disappoint you.

One of the Internet's greatest benefits is the ability to help people find, evaluate, and hire services. (And yes, now with TaskAssure, verify services!) Today, whether you are looking for home care services such as lawncare, repairs, plumbing, or cleaning; or more personal care for your loved one including elder care, child care, pet care, or home health care; or just about any other form of service you can think of, there are now tools that can help you find the best match, hire, and pay them. In this article, I want to share some of the alternatives.

In my research and reflected by discussions with real people, it is clear that home monitoring is increasing nearly as fast as "aging in place". Of course these two trends are related, as people that want to support their elder family members' desire to age in place, also want to be more aware of their status. In part because I see these as potential synergistic partners for TaskAssure, I keep abreast of this trend. In this article I offer an overview, with some helpful suggestions for how to find products in related market segments.

 

Nearly one in every 5 adults in the U.S. now help provide care for someone else with medical, disability, or other long term care challenges. This significant and growing need has prompted new tools to be offered in recent years. I call this market "care coordination". I thought it could be helpful to post my list of care coordination products. Some of these are still in "Coming Soon" mode, but most are available now. In a future article, I will offer results of my evaluation.

There's no way around it, regarding the Affordable Care Act, our government has not performed well. Such cliche's seem to be appropriate as: "not running on all 8 cylinders" and "one hand doesn't know what the other hand is doing" and "couldn't manage their way out of a paper bag" and "isn't fully aware of the facts"... I'm downright angry at them for their mismanagement and apparent lack of knowledge, which is obvious from the results we've seen. 

Have you recently learned that a family member needs supportive care, and you are considering hiring others to help? With our growing older population, this is an increasingly common occurrence. This article offers a partial list of some of the online service marketplaces that help connect people looking for caregivers within individuals that can help. New products are coming to the market every month, so this list will quickly be outdated. Let us know if you have learned about other services in this category.