Language

We should be pleased to be in a field of activity that is changing so rapidly that people struggle to find the right words. Most people accept that Assistive Technologies represent a spectrum of systems, devices and communications that give people more independence. Maybe the debate has moved on to what we mean by independence. To some it is having their own front door; to others it is the ability to offer a visitor some refreshment; and to another group it could be the ability to choose to live alone in the community. Telecare does indeed support all these requirements to some degree - so telecare, when focused on the home, does cover a wide range of Assistive Technologies - but certainly only a small percentage of them.

If an individual with a chronic disease is able to continue to live safely at home (rather than in a hospital or a nursing home) as a result of having his or her vital signs recorded and monitored remotely every day, then this medical telecare system is surely also an Assistive Technology. The problem could be that Assistive Technology isn't as sexy a term as "telecare", and doesn't sound as expensive as "telehealth" - which really is a contrived term that must become redundant when new ways of continuously collecting and analysing physiological data become commonplace, eliminating the need to send all the data to some cloud in the sky for processing and storing.

I predict that Assistive Technologies will again become the dominant term when the first generation of Personal Electronic Assistants (PEAs) makes their appearance. They will help people with impairments (probably physical and cognitive ones first) to perform the domestic and personal care tasks that they may be unable to perform for themselves, typically as a result of having one or more limiting long term conditions. People will then realise that the right combination of Assistive Technologies will make independence a practical concept to countless millions. Telecare (and the version designed for a more mobile lifestyle) will be a part player in such a world - but one that will nevertheless be vital to many people who are anxious, live alone or who are at risk of accident and sudden decline in well-being.