A panel discussing how health care will change as baby boomers age will be hosted by Medical Main Street on March 26 at Troy’s Automation Alley.
AARP data shows that 10,000 people in the U.S. turn 65 each day, and the region’s health-care organizations face difficulties with evolving technology, operational change, cost-containment challenges, and a shortage of physicians.
AARP also reports that by 2030, the U.S. will have more senior citizens than children, based on Census Bureau projections. All baby boomers and one-fifth of the total population will have reached 65 by then.
“As the baby boomers continue to age, the question everyone asks is how we provide them with adequate, responsive health care and help them age gracefully, ideally at home,” says Oakland County Executive L. Brooks Patterson. “All of these solutions, according to the experts on the panel, involve advanced technologies to improve efficiencies and lower costs. It should be a fascinating, timely discussion that is long overdue.”
Stakeholders in this issue include caregivers, government officials, insurance companies, technology providers, and investors.
Kevin Lasser, founder and CEO of JEMS Technology, will moderate the panel, titled Technology Advancements that Extend Senior Independence. JEMS is a medical device provider of HIPPA-compliant mobile live-streaming video.
The panel will cover the impact of an aging population on health-care delivery, from what providers see as the most pressing health concerns as people age, to the decisions being made by government leaders and health-care insurers that will affect public programs like Medicare. Panelists will discuss the technologies being introduced to deliver HIPPA-compliant medical services and the investment decisions made to bring the most promising products to market.
“Our country is really struggling with what to do with this huge influx of people reaching retirement age and entering the system,” says Lasser. “We’re really not prepared from a policy or systems standpoint. The panel will discuss what is being done now and coming soon to address this challenge. The new technologies may be very disruptive but will help fix the system.”
Lasser says the impact of the physician shortage, especially in specialties, can be lessened through artificial intelligence such as TeleHealth technology. He stressed it will never replace doctors but can help keep costs in check and offer supplementary services.
Other panelists include Barry S. Cargill, president and CEO of the Michigan HomeCare and Hospice Association; Steve Prucher, CEO of National Coding Center LLC in Troy; Kari Rennie, associate executive director of Henry Ford Village – Life Care Services in Dearborn; Rick Kraniak, investor, strategist and business developer at Cavendish Global in New York; and Irma O’Brien, director of government programs for Health Alliance Plan in Southfield.
The panel will take place from 8:30-10:30 a.m. Automation Alley is located at 2675 Bellingham Dr.
Attendance to the event is free, but registration is required and available here. Medical Main Street is an Oakland County-run alliance of hospitals, health systems, universities, medical device and biopharma companies, and leading medical professionals that create a center of innovation in health care, research and development, and education and commercialization in the life-science industry.
Questions about the panel can be directed to Chelsea Schutz at schutzc@oakgov.com or (248) 858-0978.
