Electronic devices deter wandering off – but at what cost?

 

‘Tagging’ Alzheimer’s Patents

Source: WebMD Health news

 Each year, local police departments handle 125,000 searches for Alzheimer’s patients who wander off from the safety of their homes. This is why the Alzheimer’s Association is considering fitting persons living with Alzheimer’s disease with electronic tracking devices to monitor their movements.

 Approximately 60% of persons with progressive memory loss get lost at least once during the progression of dementia, says Brian Hance of the Alzheimer’s Association. In some parts of the country, about half die if not located within 24 hours. Some nursing homes and municipalities in the U.S. and abroad have already implemented electronic tracking programs.

 But in the Oct 19 issue of the British Medical Journal, two experts question the use of such devices, asking if the practical benefits and ease to caregivers outweigh the ethical considerations and civil liberties of memory impaired persons. Their article appears just three weeks after a BBC report on a London nursing home that fits many of it’s memory impaired patients with the same electronic wristbands used to keep track of criminals under house arrest.

 “Our editorial is not against tagging,” author Julian Hughes, PhD, MRCPshyc, of the Center for the Health of Elderly, tells Web MD. “Our point is that we need to recognize that this new technology also involves a restriction to a person’s liberty and an invasion of privacy. We need to be aware of the potential for abuse and have some safeguards.” Hughes further notes that the practice of tagging persons with memory impairment is not widely used in the U.K., however, 44% of wandering Alzheimer’s patients in the U.K. are kept behind locked doors at some point during their disease process.

 In the U.S., the practice of tagging memory impaired elders is nothing new – although not often advertised, says Robert Koester, neurobiologist at the University of Virginia and arguably the nation’s leading researcher on Alzheimer’s related wandering. There are different devices that are common practice in residential care settings. One type is worn on the wrist and causes a door to automatically lock as the memory impaired person approaches it. There is also a proximity alarm – similar to those commonly used to track criminals – in which an alarm goes off if the person wanders past a certain area. This is the same technology used to track tagged wildlife.

 “When you consider that a search for an Alzheimer’s wanderer can cost thousands of dollars, you can understand why law enforcement agencies want to use it,” says Koester, who has personally been involved in 40 Alzheimer’s related searches. “I’m not sure it’s necessary for all Alzheimer’s patients, but there are plenty of people who are excellent candidates. One of our cases was a woman who required three full-blown searches, bringing in help from all over the state and having 100 people look for her.” By the third time the answer seems pretty clear.

 Unfortunately, many patients are resistant to wearing anything – even a simple “Safe Return” bracelet that is nothing more than a piece of jewelry. Some of the electronic wrist bands are bulky or emit a constant beep which can only add to the resistance a person may feel.

 Other problems: The stigma of wearing a device used to keep tabs on wildlife and criminals. And, of course, there’s the cost - $150 to $250 for the wristbands (or ankle bands), plus about $30 per month for new batteries. Meanwhile, law enforcement officials must spend about $2,000 for the tracking monitors.

 “We’re keeping our eyes and ears open, but we’re not offering electronic tracking devices at this time,” says Hance, associate director of the Alzheimer’s Association’s Safe Return program. “We do know they are available elsewhere, and we’re aware of their usefulness – as well as the issues related to their cost and size.”

 For now, the Safe Return program will continue to offer the simple ID bracelet with the person’s first name and a toll-free number that is worn by 94,000 Americans entered into a database. So far, they have safely returned 7,500 wanderers found wearing the Safe Return bracelet – nearly a 100% success rate in returning home those who were lost.

 For more information on the Safe Return Program, please contact the WNY Chapter of the Alzheimer’s Association at (716) 626-0600 or search the web at www.alz.org

 For more information regarding the programs and services for the memory impaired offered by ElderWood Senior care, please contact us at (716) 633-3900 or visit our website at www.elderwood.com

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