15 Years Ago, a Vision of Digital Health

Way back in 1992, Glen Williamson wrote this prescient article. Here's the abstract, and the whole document is here:

A computer (PC) based, nonrestrictive activity monitoring and emergency detection system for the elderly or infirm is proposed. The intent of this system is to allow a population of people, meeting certain criteria of mobility, to continue to live in their own homes beyond a time when they might move into a retirement or nursing home. The effect of such a system would be the reduction of the direct-care nursing home population, having the obvious benefits both economic and psychological. The system is meant as an adjunct to - not a replacement of - social services such as person to person call-in programs, "Meals on Wheels," visits by social workers, care givers, etc. This paper discusses the need for research aimed at making such a system totally non-intrusive to the user, providing security and, at the same time, preserving a feeling of autonomy. The costs of this system, when compared with a live-in companion, for example, would be significantly less.