GreatCall and the Jitterbug:

Innovating Aging-in-Place

Growing Aging Population

Over the years the tech industry has boomed, creating a virtual world that exists in an almost entirely digital interface. This construction of a wired and wireless world has provided a myriad of benefits to educational settings, commerce, and business technique. However, with all of these advances a single group was being left behind: the aging population. Aging adults were often stereotyped as stuck in their ways, unwilling and unable to learn new technologies and techniques. This was based on the fact that much of the technology that entered the consumer space was designed for a younger population, not accounting for any of the user concerns of aging adults. Newer technology is taking these issues into account and becoming more accessible to older users. This idea of the “digital divide” is no longer true. This once canvernouse divide is now no more than a crack, and shrinking everyday.

People are living longer and staying active and healthy in their advancing years. Projections show that in the next decade the population of age 65+ adults will reach 70 million and seniors will outnumber children for the first time in U.S. history[[1]. These aging adults want to stay active, independent, and healthy. They want to achieve all of this while remaining at home. This desire to stay in their homes, as opposed to institutions or senior living facilities, is known as aging-in-place. Older adults are living in our connected world and want to take full advantage of all that technology has to offer, including knowledge acquisition, healthcare connections, and communication ease. Companies must take into account the aging adult consumer as a key demographic for their products and systems. In the near future, these older buyers will be the key consumers of tech that allows them to age-in-place and stay connected. The GreatCall company, with their Jitterbug Smartphone and mHealth devices, is an example of a company that is looking to the future of the aging population and designing their products and services with the aging consumer in mind. Many other companies can model their strategies with this age-forward view to account for future growth and needs.

The GreatCall company is an example of how to be a flexible technology service provider in a changing marketplace. Many people know GreatCall as the company that sells the senior-friendly Jitterbug phone, but they do a lot more to provide services to enhance the lives of the aging population. Their services combine ease of use, with ease of mind to provide an overall framework for senior facing technology.

Tech Use Among Elderly

In a Pew research poll from 2017, it was found that tech adoption is climbing among older adults. Since 2013, the ownership of smartphones in the 65+ population has doubled. This jump is seen in primarily the well-educated and affluent. The main concerns with adopting this new technology was that they needed assistance setting up the tech and did not feel confident in their ability [2] In another research study at UCSD, researchers found that technology companies need to focus more on the concerns and limitations of older adults instead of a top-down design[3].

GreatCall Inc.

GreatCall was founded in 2005 by “the father and first lady or wireless” , Martin Cooper and Arlene Harris. Cooper led the Motorola team that developed the technology to make the first cell phones in the 1970s. Harris started as a switchboard operator at age 12 and advanced in her career and technological knowledge to become a wireless entrepreneur for more than three decades. The couple sought to disrupt the idea of over-complicated cell phone technology. The user should not need to be an engineer in order to use the device. [4]

GreatCall started as a wireless communication company with the initial release of the Jitterbug phone, which entered the market in 2006. The phone was iterated upon and grew over the years with added features to improve the lives of the aging users. Eventually, in 2012, GreatCall introduced their own simple Android device, the Touch.[5] When the Touch hit the market, the devices currently being offered suffered from “feature bloat” and disharmonized systems where the user would have to complete the same task over and over for different applications. Unlike these complicated devices, the Touch design was simple and more user friendly.

While GreatCall makes easy to use cell phones for the elderly, they are now described as a health company. It was a natural progression for a company focusing on device use for seniors to enter the healthcare space. GreatCall added additional alert device systems like fall detectors and emergency response buttons both on the phone and as stand-alone devices. In more recent years, they have ventured into the mHealth market acquiring Lively Homes [formerly HealthSense], a passive health sensor company[6]. This demonstrates GreatCall’s vision of the future of health tech and big data as a solution to the aging population’s health needs and concerns.

The Devices

Phones from GreatCall are under the brand service name Jitterbug, reminiscent of the early 20th century dance. This name was designed to remove some of the technological intimidation that older adults may feel and enhance their acceptance of the devices. GreatCall currently offers two main styles of phone, a classic flip phone and a smartphone. They also offer a few health monitor systems and apps that can assist and alert if there are any emergencies for the user.

Flip Phone

GreatCall released the Jitterbug flip phone soon after being founded in 2006. This phone was designed with the aging community in mind[7]. The screen was big with large, high-contrast text, and the speaker was made to be clear and loud. These features addressed the audio and visual problems that aging adults often experienced with other phones. The overall shape of the phone was made to be easy to hold and the buttons were large and easy to press. As older adults often experience loss of finger dexterity with age, this easy-to-hold, easy-to-press design made the Jitterbug more accessible for them. At this point in time , 2006, Apple was about a year away from releasing the iPhone and cell phones were becoming increasingly advanced. The Jitterbug had a simple user interface with yes/no menu options. Some other features that seem obvious to make phone use easier, but are often overlooked in newer phone design:

• A power button that says ON/OFF

• The personal phone number printed directly on the phone

• GreatCall would ship the Jitterbug phone with up to 15 designated pre-programmed numbers in the contacts for ease of set-up

Over the years the Jitterbug phone iterated on the design and added features to allow for greater independence and control.

• In 2009, a LiveNurse feature was added to the services of Jitterbug phones. This allowed customers to reach a registered nurse at any time, day or night.[9]

• In the same year the Jitterbug phone was backed by the Verizon network, adding to call quality and network coverage[8].

• Urgent response calls, personal assistance, and even medication management were added over the years to services with GreatCall phone plans.

• Connection to an assistant with one button- can add number to phone book, or order the user a Lyft.[10]

On initial launch of the Jitterbug service there were two clamshell flip phones, one pictured above, that looks like a classic flip phone and one called One-touch that only had 3 buttons: “Operator”, “Friend [customizable]”, “9-1-1” [11]. This option has since been discontinued, though it is an example of innovation to simplify user experience, even more than the classic flip phone.

The Smart[phone]

In 2012, Jitterbug service released smartphones that ran on a customized interface over the Android OS. This gave the user more control and features than the flip phone. The focus was still on simplicity and ease of use. The user interface, while is built on Android, adds a text description of the application and increases the size and contrast of text and user interface controls. Easy and simple to use, but with all of the features of a smartphone. Health information on the phone is integrated with apps and can be retrieved with the touch of a button for emergency response teams, medical professionals, or even the family. This smartphone was designed with the older user in mind and worked to harmonize the phone use with other healthcare needs[12].

mHealth Devices

Personal Emergency Response Systems (PERS) and Mobile PERS (mPERS) are an ever growing market with the increase in aging adults. In 2009 GreatCall acquired a PERS startup, MobiWatch[13]. In 2011 they began offering a wearable sensor and alert button and started offering emergency health response service along with the cell services called Splash 5Star Urgent Response. It included a GSP and worked both in and out of the home. This was important to add to the users freedom, no longer did they only have PERS in the home. Later in 2016, these PERS were replaced after GreatCall acquired the Lively. These PERS increase users’ feelings of control and independence, allowing them to feel secure both in the home, and out.

One of the more innovative areas of this acquisition of Lively Home (HealthSense) is the use of in-home sensors, or passive remote patient monitoring (pRPM). Data from remote sensors are used to monitor ADL (Activities of Daily Living). These monitors use in-home living and data analysis to predict health changes to intervene early to prevent high cost health care. These sensors are passive motion sensors that can capture movement and behaviors in the home to create “actionable insights” to initiate change.

A pilot study conducted by Fitch et. al (2017) at the University of Minnesota found that the use of pRPM and intervention significantly reduced the cost of healthcare. Analysis of data from sensors was used to find early deviations in behavior from baseline measurements. These changes were forwarded to case managers enabling them to take action to avoid costly hospital visits [14]. In a similar finding, a study done by Fallon Health, a Massachusetts health insurance provider, found that using passive sensors, and passive remote monitoring could reduce the medical cost of insurance plan members. It showed a significant drop in ER visits and long-term care on the group using the RPM compared to the control [15][16]. Ambient monitoring in the home is the future of aging-in-place. The collected data is analyzed and AI/machine learning can view minute changes in behavior that a clinician would not have access to. Those minute changes that deviate from the baseline can inform earlier intervention and prevention of more serious conditions. These technological advances can greatly reduce the burden and cost of healthcare in the years to come with the ever-growing aging population. These passive monitors can create a safe, healthy environment, while not detracting from the users feeling of independence and control[17]. Data is transforming senior health care, and many stakeholders can benefit from this innovation. One interesting advancement in these pRPM systems is the ability to detect dementia at its earliest stages. With the proliferation of big data, and granularity of behavioral analysis it may be possible to see small changes that can reflect the early signs of Alzheimers or dementia. Treatment of dementia has the greatest chances of slowing symptoms if it is detected early. More research in this area needs to be completed, but the possibility of earlier detection and treatment could benefit millions of people.

Acquisition by Best Buy

In August 2018, Best Buy announced the purchase of GreatCall for $800 million. At the time of the purchase, GreatCall reported 900,000 paying subscribers and $300 million in annual sales. This marks the largest acquisition for Best Buy in its 52 years of business. The deal aims to supplement Best Buy’s 2020 strategy “to enrich lives through technology by addressing key human needs” [20][21]. Best Buy is aware of the population age increase and is looking to the future by providing technology to benefit aging-in-place. This partnership is a mutually beneficial plan.

Previously, Jitterbug devices were not in any brick-and-mortar store. The devices were only offered online, or over the phone. While they do offer a very generous trial period, it may increase sales if the targeted older population is able to get a hands-on experience before the purchase. While this acquisition allows for sales, it also allows for the support systems of the Best Buy organization, namely Geek Squad. In the 2017 Pew poll, many seniors admitted to needing assistance when using a new electronic device[2]. With the support of Geek Squad, aging adults are able to feel more comfortable and confident purchasing and using devices. They would also be able to get these support needs in the home. This would allow aging adults more independence and aging-in-place longer. Best Buy’s acquisition of GreatCall is forward thinking, placing them in a position to not only sell the products, but also provide the subscription services allowing for a steady stream of repeatable revenue.

Innovation of Aging-In-Place

The world is aging. The “Boomers” are getting older. As the population ages, older adults and their families are put in the difficult position of deciding whether to age at home or move to an institution specialized for seniors. The research says that older adults want to stay at home[23]. In the next few decades, the business of aging will grow. Clever companies will account for these changes in the marketplace[24]. GreatCall and Best Buy are being innovative in their strategies. McConatha (2002) described how the use of the internet and technology can benefit the aging population in the areas of control, isolation and social support, well-being, person environment fit, and education. GreatCall is looking to all of these areas and innovating to enhance the lives and health of seniors. GreatCall’s growth throughout the years shows an innovative approach that accounts for the changes in the mobile market and prepares for the future by focusing on the healthcare needs of the aging consumer market.

References

1. U.S. Census Bureau. (2018, March 13). Older People Projected to Outnumber Children for First Time in US History (RELEASE NUMBER CB18-41). Retrieved 30 October, 2019, from https://www.census.gov/newsroom/press-releases/2018/cb18-41-population-projections.html

2. Anderson, M & Perrin, A. (2017, May 17). Tech Adoption Climbs Among Older Adults. Pew Research Center. Retrieved 30 October, 2019, from https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/2017/05/17/tech-adoption-climbs-among-older-adults/

3. Jefferson. (2019, June 28). More Seniors Are Embracing Technology But Can They Use It? UCSD Researchers Suggest Asking Them. Retrieved 30 October, 2019, from https://www.forbes.com/sites/robinseatonjefferson/2019/06/28/more-seniors-are-embracing-technology-but-can-they-use-it-ucsd-researchers-suggest-asking-them/#1346b7932323

4. Manfred, E. (2015, June 17). The King and Queen of Wireless Speak Out. Retrieved 2 November, 2019, from https://seniorplanet.org/the-king-and-queen-of-wireless-speak-out/

5. Colon, A. (2012, November 27). Jitterbug Touch Review (GreatCall) . Retrieved 6 November, 2019, from https://in.pcmag.com/product-guides/79150/jitterbug-touch-greatcall

6. Comstock, J. (2015, December 03). GreatCall acquires Lively’s aging in place technology assets. Retrieved 10 November, 2019, from https://www.mobihealthnews.com/content/greatcall-acquires-livelys-aging-place-technology-assets

7. Huffman, M. (2006, November 13). New Cell Phones Target Seniors. Retrieved 16 November, 2019, from https://www.consumeraffairs.com/news04/2006/11/cell_seniors.html

8. Flatley. (2009). Jitterbug comes to Verizon’s network, ‘Can you hear me now’ guy replaced by Wilford Brimley. Retrieved 14 November, 2019, from https://www.engadget.com/2009/08/27/jitterbug-comes-to-verizons-network-can-you-hear-me-now-guy/

9. Waxman. (2009). Jitterbug LiveNurse™ Wins Best Mobile Consumer Application Award. Retrieved 10 November, 2019, from [https://www.greatcall.com/docs/default-source/press-releases/2009—jitterbug-s-live-nurse-wins-best-mobile-consumer-app.pdf](https://www.greatcall.com/docs/default-source/press-releases/2009—jitterbug-s-live-nurse-wins-best-mobile-consumer-app.pdf%5C)

10. Bowers, L. (2016, August 30). Lyft, GreatCall test senior transportation program. Retrieved 12 November, 2019, from https://www.mcknightsseniorliving.com/home/news/lyft-greatcall-test-senior-transportation-program/

11. Wolpin, S. (2007, April 20). Jitterbug Dial Review. Retrieved 16 November, 2019, from https://www.digitaltrends.com/cell-phone-reviews/jitterbug-dial-review/

12. Comstock, J. (2018, April 30). GreatCall launches Jitterbug Smart2, its new UX-focused smartphone for seniors. Retrieved 16 November, 2019, from https://www.mobihealthnews.com/content/greatcall-launches-jitterbug-smart2-its-new-ux-focused-smartphone-seniors

13. Waxman. (2009, November 04). New “Mobile Safety Net” Joins Growing Collection of services within Jitterbug’s “FullService” Experience. Retrieved 10 November, 2019, from https://www.greatcall.com/docs/default-source/press-releases/2009—jitterbug-acquires-mobiwatch.pdf

14. Finch, M, Griffin, K & Pacala, J. (2017, April 13). Reduced Healthcare Use and Apparent Savings with Passive Home Monitoring Technology: A Pilot Study. Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, 65(6)

15. Holly, R. (2018, October 17). Best Buy’s GreatCall Teams Up with Insurer to Provide Remote Patient Monitoring. Retrieved 10 November, 2019, from https://homehealthcarenews.com/2018/10/best-buys-greatcall-teams-up-with-insurer-to-provide-remote-patient-monitoring/

16. Press Release: Fallon Health (2015, January 06). New Study Finds that Remote Monitoring Reduces Long-Term Care Days, ER Visits and Hospital Admissions. Retrieved 10 November, 2019, from http://www.npccs.com/news/press-releases/item/new-study-finds-that-remote-monitoring-reduces-long-term-care-days-er-visits-and-hospital-admissions

17. WhitePaper: mCol (2018, April). In-Home Monitoring Data & Predictive Analytics Create Insights That Empower Care Teams to Achieve Better Outcomes & Lower Costs. Retrieved 10 November, 2019, from https://healthcare.greatcall.com/wp-content/uploads/mcol-greatCall-in-home-monitoring-data-white-paper.pdf

18. Adams, B. (2018). How Data Science is Transforming Senior Care. Retrieved 14 November, 2019, from https://healthcare.greatcall.com/wp-content/uploads/how-data-science-is-transforming-senior-care.pdf

19. Freeman, M. (2018, October 16). GreatCall teams with insurer to offer in-home sensors to track movement of high-risk seniors. Retrieved 16 November, 2019, from https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/business/technology/sd-fi-greatcall-sensors-for-seniors-20181016-story.html

20. Shelman, J. (2018, August 15). Investor Relations: Best Buy Acquires GreatCall, a Leading Connected Health Services Provider. Retrieved 14 November, 2019, from http://investors.bestbuy.com/investor-relations/news-and-events/financial-releases/news-details/2018/Best-Buy-Acquires-GreatCall-a-Leading-Connected-Health-Services-Provider/default.aspx

21. Meyersohn, N. (2018, October 08). Best Buy is cashing in as Amercians grow older. Retrieved 14 November, 2019, from https://www.cnn.com/2018/10/08/business/best-buy-greatcall-jitterbug-phones/index.html

22. Position Paper: Center for Technology and Aging. (2010, April). Technologies for Remote Patient Monitoring for Older Adults. Retrieved 17 November, 2019, from http://www.phi.org/uploads/application/files/mjr85izva3yk7v3ah3yqtf5bt1phgzywg67a7zlsv7xcy9h85w.pdf

23. Stepler, R. (2016, February 18). Smaller Share of Women Ages 65 and Older Are Living Alone. Retrieved 30 October, 2019, from https://www.pewsocialtrends.org/2016/02/18/smaller-share-of-women-ages-65-and-older-are-living-alone/

24. Irving, P. (2018, February 23). Aging Populations: A Blessing For Business. Retrieved 17 November, 2019, from https://www.forbes.com/sites/nextavenue/2018/02/23/aging-populations-a-blessing-for-business/#2ffdc16b7a77

25. McConatha, D. (2002). Aging Online: Toward a Theory of e-Quality. Older Adults, Health Information, and the World Wide Web (1 ed., pp.21-41).