Assistive and Medical Devices & Technology

Health Care in Transition: Technology Assessment in the Private Sector Prepared by: Richard Rettig of the RAND Corporation Office of the Assistant Secretary of Planning and Evaluation Agency for Health Care Policy and Research. July, 1996.

This announces the launch of a comprehensive, searchable Web site that contains information on hundreds of technology products to improve quality of life and care in long-term care residential settings, http://www.techforltc.org/.

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

This paper, prepared by a DALTCP student intern, provides an overview of assistive technology for the frail elderly. According to the Office of Technology Assessment, in 1985 there were over 18,000 devices available to aid the functionally impaired elderly. The number has grown since then. The devices range in sophistication from a modified eating utensil to computerized voice simulators.

Physical impairments are commonly believed to require relatively more active hands-on assistance with the activities of daily living (ADLs) while cognitive impairments use relatively more supervisory or standby assistance.

The Congress, HHS, and other federal agencies have expressed considerable interest in the adequacy of current programs and policies affecting severely disabled children, particularly those who are technology dependent and whose health and medical care place catastrophic financing and caregiving burdens on their families.