With the number of individuals suffering from dementia forecast to more-than triple by 2050, dementia care will increasingly fall to family, friends, and other informal caregivers. The chronic stress and compassion fatigue these informal caregivers experience often leads to anxiety and depression. However, there’s increasing evidence that digital tools for dementia care can help relieve caregiver burnout without compromising the quality of care.
Dementia Care and eHealth
Electronic health (eHealth) solutions are already proving to be effective for caregivers. Specifically, these tools increase caregivers’ knowledge of dementia and reduce symptoms of stress and anxiety.
Because of their high degree of adaptability and customization, these digital tools can support caregivers through specific stages of dementia and provide educational tools that don’t require them to leave home.
A recent study into an eHealth solution for supporting caregivers showed that after an eight-week trial, caregivers showed greater self-efficacy, better knowledge, and a higher quality of life. Additionally, the study showed what’s required of digital health solutions to increase the likelihood of successful implementation.
Successful Implementation of eHealth Solutions
While enthusiasm for eHealth solutions is growing, implementation has remained slow. Some challenges include skepticism from healthcare providers and the need for coordination within health care organizations to support eHealth.
Moreover, the study found successful implementation of a digital support solution required several characteristics.
- Care benefits for both practices and patients
- User-friendly platforms
- Financial benefits from implementation
BrainCheck offers all of these benefits.
BrainCheck Cognitive Health Platform
BrainCheck’s user-friendly, comprehensive cognitive health platform was designed for everyday clinical use by physicians. BrainCheck supports patients and caregivers, as well. BrainCheck’s cognitive care planning tool provides personalized, behavior-based interventions that help relieve caregiver stress, allowing them to plan for the future and focus on areas that need additional support to prolong a patients’ activities of daily living.
And importantly, CMS has encouraged increased cognitive care planning by offering financial incentive. CPT 99483, introduced in 2019, reimburses clinicians for cognitive care planning.
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