Multimedia News Release - Intel Chairman Urges U.S. to Address Healthcare for Aging Society Through Technology Innovation
December 13 2005 - 6:45PM
PR Newswire (US)
WASHINGTON, Dec. 13 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Intel Corporation
Chairman Craig Barrett today urged U.S. government leaders to seize
the opportunity to apply technology to help solve the economic and
social challenges faced by the country due to skyrocketing
healthcare costs and a growing wave of aging citizens. To view the
Multimedia News Release, go to:
http://www.prnewswire.com/mnr/intel/23330/ Speaking at the White
House Conference on Aging, held only once a decade, Barrett said,
"This is a golden moment to bring government, healthcare
professionals, industry and academia together to accelerate
innovation and investment for this critical national issue." With
nearly 35 million senior citizens in the United States, the country
already spends 16 percent of its gross domestic product (GDP) on
healthcare. Forecasters estimate that 25 percent of the nation's
GDP will go toward healthcare as the number of senior citizens
doubles during the next 20 to 30 years. Barrett said the country's
economy cannot keep pace with the soaring costs of caring for an
aging society. "We can make the healthcare system more
cost-efficient while simultaneously improving the quality of care
and life for our nation's aging population," said Barrett. "No
company, no industry, no country can afford to ignore the economic
and social impact this wave of aging people will create."
Developing technologies to keep people well and moving care from
the hospital to the home are central to transforming the healthcare
system, according to Barrett. "A broad range of personal health
technologies designed to go into the home hold hope for seniors to
'age in place,' maintaining their independence and deferring costly
institutional care," he said. He pointed to new computer-based
technologies and innovations in sensors, software and wireless
technologies that can allow such vital information as heart rate,
respiratory rate, blood pressure and sleep patterns to be tracked
remotely. Broadband Internet connectivity allows the data to be
shared real- time between seniors and healthcare professionals, as
well as amongst family members and friends who deliver the majority
of care to seniors. Intel is a founding member of the Center for
Aging Services Technologies (CAST), a coalition of more than 400
technology companies, aging services organizations, research
universities and government representatives collaborating to
develop and deploy emerging technologies that can improve the aging
experience in America. The CAST Technology Pavilion at the White
House Conference highlighted dozens of promising technologies from
more than 30 companies and universities aimed at helping seniors.
Intel researchers showed prototypes of home systems to help with
medication prompting, social support, disease management and
exercise. Intel, the world's largest chip maker, is also a leading
manufacturer of computer, networking and communications products.
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http://www.prnewswire.com/mnr/intel/23330DATASOURCE: Intel
Corporation CONTACT: Jennifer Greeson of Intel Corporation,
+1-202-320-8532, or Web site: http://www.intel.com/
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