The elderly demographic time bomb - sharing the load with the active ageing: can eHealth technologies help defuse it?

This paper examines strategic health management and practical health service delivery issues inherent in the potential doubling in the number of over 65s over the next two decades. It considers the use of scarce and overloaded resources in providing care and support to this age group across the spectrum of community environments, and advocates the use of shared information services coupled with the deployment of 'smart' technologies to supplement available yet scarce professional resources as well as enabling elderly people to maintain a safe, active and independent lifestyle. An innovative approach to provide support both to an active ageing population, as well as the more frail or vulnerable members of society, is outlined. Based on an ongoing research programme, this centres on the extension of the Smart Home concept to create an overarching smart environment. This combines advanced information, communications and textile technologies with physiological monitoring and location based processes and services, to protect and support users by maintaining the range of services they need. Discussion of the behavioural dynamics inherent in organizational change concludes the paper.