In development
Living well at home
A joined-up service that brings wearables and home health devices together with a real care team, so older people can live independently with their health quietly watched over.
Devices are only useful if someone acts on them.
There are already good devices for measuring health at home: blood pressure cuffs, pulse oximeters, spirometers, activity trackers and fall sensors. On their own, they mostly produce numbers that nobody is watching.
Living well at home connects those devices into one service. Readings flow to a care team who know the person, can spot a change early, and can arrange the right response, from a phone call to a GP visit. Kōrero Clear then explains what the readings mean in plain language, to the person and, if they choose, to their whānau.
We don’t make devices. We select proven ones and connect them, so the service can grow as better technology arrives.
How it would work
The person chooses
They decide what is measured, how often, and who can see it. Nothing is switched on by default.
Devices at home
Simple, proven devices suited to the person’s needs take readings as part of everyday life.
A care team watches the trends
Readings come together in one place, so a care coordinator or nurse can see what is changing over time.
Early, human action
When something changes, a person responds: a check-in call, advice, or a referral to the GP or community nurse.
Everyone understands
Kōrero Clear explains what was found and what happens next, in words the person and their whānau can follow.
What it means for people
For older people
Stay in your own home, with the reassurance that changes in your health will be noticed and followed up.
For whānau
Less worry from a distance, with information shared only when the person agrees.
For clinicians
A clearer picture between appointments, and earlier warning when someone needs more support.
For the health system
Fewer avoidable trips to hospital.
When changes are noticed early and people understand their care, problems can be dealt with at home instead of in the emergency department.
- A year of support at home
- $10,800 about 3.1 hours a week
- A single average hospital stay
- $12,800 7.3 days at about $1,750 a day
- A year of rest-home-level residential care
- $28,500 residential care subsidy
Source: Aged Care Ministerial Advisory Group, A Place to Grow Old: Securing the future of aged care, August 2026. Figures are approximate.
A year of support at home costs less than one hospital stay. Every avoidable admission prevented, and every extra year someone can safely stay at home, makes a real difference to the system.
Earlier action
Changes in readings such as blood pressure, oxygen levels or activity reach a care team in time to act, before they become an emergency.
Fewer avoidable ED visits
Concerns are picked up and followed through by the right person, so a worrying night is less likely to end in the emergency department.
Fewer avoidable admissions
People who understand their medicines and care plans are less likely to end up back in hospital because something was misunderstood.
A safer return home
Monitoring and coordination after a hospital stay give clinicians more confidence to send people home, and help them stay there.
Independence for longer
Support at home helps people stay in their own homes and communities for as long as they choose.
Measured from day one
Every pilot tracks emergency department visits and hospital admissions with our partners, so the results speak for themselves.
Learning from international programmes
The design draws on lessons reported by the EU-funded SMILE programme (Smart Inclusive Living Environments), which tested connected care for older people in Norway, Denmark, the Netherlands and Canada.
An addition, never a replacement
Older people welcomed technology that added to contact with health professionals, and rejected anything meant to replace it. Our service is built around people.
Personal choices about data
People wanted different things measured, and some did not want family to see their data. Every setting here is the person’s choice.
One size doesn’t fit all
A chat tool didn’t suit people with dementia, so their carers needed a different view. We design for supporters from the start, with safeguards on who can act for someone.
Trust is the hard part
Agreements about protecting and sharing data took longer than the technology. We are building those protections in from the beginning.
Where we’re up to
Living well at home is in design. We’re looking for health providers, primary care teams and community organisations interested in shaping and piloting it with us.