Episode 7:4 Laurie Orlov on Game-Changing Technologies for Older Adults

The go-to analyst of age-tech shares her take on solutions for connection, health, and safety, how wearables will influence senior living, and why voice is the “killer app.”

About Laurie

Laurie M. Orlov is a tech industry veteran, writer, speaker, and elder care advocate. Her popular report Aging and Health Technology Watch provides thought leadership, analysis and guidance about health and aging-related technologies and services that enable boomers and seniors to sustain and improve their quality of life. In her previous career, Laurie spent many years in the technology industry, including nine years at analyst firm Forrester Research. She has spoken regularly and delivered keynote speeches at forums, industry consortia, conferences, and symposia, most recently on the business of technology for boomers and seniors. She advises large organizations as well as non-profits and entrepreneurs about trends and opportunities in the age-related technology market.

Laurie’s segmentation of this emerging technology market and trends commentary have been presented in the Journal of Geriatric Care Management. Her perspectives have been quoted in the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times, Senior Housing News, CNN Health, and Consumer Reports. She has a graduate certification in Geriatric Care Management from the University of Florida and a BA in Music from the University of Rochester. Laurie has provided testimony about technology at a Senate Aging Committee hearing and consulted to AARP. Advisory clients have included AARP, Argentum, Bose, CDW, Microsoft, Novartis, Philips, and many others.

Key Takeaways

• Technologies for older adults are categorized into three primary types: connection, health, and safety. These technologies for senior living and aging in place are essentially the same yet deployed differently.
• Connection in senior living starts with broadband.The senior living industry has been late in getting adequate Wi-Fi, but the pace of adoption picked up during Covid.
• Telehealth is here to stay. There will be a hybrid set of offerings for medicine and mental health consultations depending on the condition of the patient and the distance to travel.
• Providers of new health technologies need be HIPAA compliant.Apple became compliant in eight weeks with the initial launch of their health application.
• There is a reincarnation of fall detection with wearables and home sensing technologies using voice, radar, and AI. In senior living, technology can notify staff of a fall and determine whether it is an emergency that needs medical attention.
• Voice technologies are a game changer for older adults. Until 2018, the only way to interact with a technology was to type, swipe, pinch, or zoom.