Every year an estimated 125,000 Alzheimer’s sufferers are reported lost by their families. With every hour that passes, the chances of their return gets slimmer. One manufacturer advertises that, once the GPS tracker is activated, the individual wearing it can be located in about 15 minutes, with an accuracy of about 30 feet.

GPS tracking offers a bit of hope and safety to people whose loved ones have a destructive and debilitating disease. Many of these devices incorporating GPS tracking technology are in constant development. But one man’s breakthrough is another man’s controversy.

Following are some possible drawbacks that crop up on the subject, from doctor’s offices to online discussion forums:

 Possible Drawbacks of GPS Tracking for Alzheimer’s:

• The smaller the unit is, the shorter the battery life. Since these are mobile, removable devices they will rely on batteries as their sole source of power. Will paid caregivers assume the responsibility for changing or charging batteries?
•  Are the GPS tracking devices waterproof and resistant to heat and cold?
• Efforts might anger the patient and make things worse. Alzheimer’s patients tend to become easily agitated and emotional. They often become frustrated at their diminishing mental abilities and deny the severity of the symptoms.
• Some Alzheimer’s patients enjoy long periods of clarity. Treatment or tracking should be matters of will or consent. At what point must your loved one be declared incompetent and decisions made for him/her?
• Alzheimer’s patients tend to reject or remove items that are new and unfamiliar.
• Many older people with disorientation problems spend long periods stationary, at rest. When they wander away, many are found in sleepwear, barefoot or wearing slippers.
• The equipment (several hundred dollars) and ongoing monthly service fees ($30 to more than $100) might be cost-prohibitive. Can families already coping with the high costs of medical and assisted living afford such a device? Will insurance cover it?
• These special GPS tracking devices are designed to be tamper-proof, but are they built for comfort?
• Many of the devices incorporate both GPS and wireless technologies. The GPS tracker will only be as good as its cellular provider. Service might be unreliable or the subject being tracked could turn it off.
• Is it fair to have a loved one electronically tethered to a location only because he/she has a disease?

Memory lapse is a common side effect of aging, along with failing eyesight. With Alzheimer’s disease, most patients begin with simple memory loss, but symptoms progress to confusion and an inability to care for themselves.

We cannot blame families for their desire to care for loved ones in friendly and safe environment. That is why we are seeing a growth in retirement living communities and assisted care communities and a shift away from nursing homes.

 There are already hundreds of products being marketed to caregivers of those with dementia. They include a mural of a bookshelf to camouflage a doorway, a stop sign banner to keep patients from restricted areas and a battery-operated floor mat that has a remote alarm. If the patient steps on the mat, the caregiver is alerted.

It is sometimes wise to prepare for the unexpected. Are GPS tracking devices a good way to help our memory-impaired elders stay happily at home?

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