Mobile is Key in PERS Expansion

When thinking of professional emergency response services (PERS), many of us can't help but think of the classic ‘90s ad for LifeCall, where a felled elderly lady cries, “Help! I've fallen and I can't get up!” However, according to a recent study by Link-age Connect and Aging in Place Technology Watch, the PERS market is expanding toward a younger, mobile-savvy demographic.

The findings of the report, titled, “Next Generation Response Systems – From Fear to Function,” highlighted at Thursday's What’s Next Boomer Business Summit in Chicago, is based on a survey of more than 1,100 adults ages 55 and over. It turns out that many PERS users are less worried about that lone, fatal fall than they are interested in managing their health and tracking an active lifestyle – particularly when living with a chronic condition.

Laurie Orlov, the principal analyst on the study says that research “indicates the traditional base of users is expanding to include more mobile and active users who want to track their biometrics and other health information.” Orlov cites Numera Libris, a “personal health gateway” by Numera, as a technology well-suited to collect such information.

Numera Libris is a wearable mobile device that integrates telehealth and safety functions. The product features some of the details we expect from PERS devices, like mobile emergency response services and fall detection, but it also touts more sophisticated tools like GPS and bluetooth pairing with health monitoring devices.

By connecting to the Numera NetTM telehealth+telecare platform, Numera Libris enables users to upload biometric measurements from a variety of wireless health devices, which can then be sent via either PC or Numera's home hub to the users doctors, family – and whoever else the user chooses, preventing many a cry for help, while also applying to much less disastrous scenarios.