Best Practices

Monitoring Technology: Informed Consent and Individual Privacy

Monitoring Technology: Informed Consent and Individual Privacy When utilizing monitoring technology, the issues surrounding informed consent and individual privacy must be accounted for. Informed consent must be obtained for all individuals affected by the proposed monitoring technology as people have a right to know what is being used in their environment and what information may be captured.

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Asking the right questions

Assessments for remote monitoring—and technology in general—help teams ask the right questions to identify goals and outcomes technology may assist with. Most technology service vendors and many service providers have their own assessment process to help fine tune outcomes and recommend specific tool options.

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Funding 101

There are numerous funding streams that providers and service recipients can use to support
technology use.

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A Case for Provider Investment

While the state of Minnesota boasts one of the richest, most comprehensive funding structures for technology, there continue to be areas in which funding is not available. Lack of formal funding should not deter providers from considering to invest their own dollars in certain solutions which make sense to help improve an organization’s ability to encourage independence of the people we support as well as helping an organization become more effective.

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Creating a strong base

The Phoenix Residence made the decision to invest heavily in new technology when they transitioned from paper records to electronic processing. Their new technology investments not only freed up resources to assist in handling some workforce issues that are common in the disability services industry, but also had the added benefit of allowing their residents to utilize assistive technology devices powered through Wi-Fi to increase independence.

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Remote Supports : 10 common questions every family should ask

Remote support technology comes in many forms. From medication dispensers that remind individuals to take their medication (and alert staff if access hasn’t occurred) to more high-tech options such as remote monitoring where external staff monitor a series of sensors and/or video to alert internal staff to a need, options exist to help increase an individual’s privacy and independence while maintaining their needed level of care.

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New Technology Means New Options for People Needing Supports

Remote support and the technology it requires is not new, but spreading the word and adapting regulatory and funding rules to take advantage of it has been a slow process. Because “supervision” required the presence of a DSP, funders felt safe tying payment to DSP physical presence, and regulatory language often used “supervision” and “staff ” interchangeably. It all worked, for better or worse, until supervision no longer required the physical presence of a DSP. Minnesota has found a way to adapt funding and regulation to use the new technology tools, and it is starting to catch on.

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