I've had a few questions lately about technical help in dealing with memory loss.  There are some good tools to assist seniors and caregivers with things like medication management, appointments, self monitoring reminders, falling concerns, and even mobility. 

Saying this, I should quickly add that these are all fairly new and nothing has yet emerged standard practice.  This may be due to the reality that memory loss and related conditions of dementia are typically progressive diseases.  Meaning, a technology that works this month likely will not work in six months.  For example, one caregiver we were working with purchased an electronic pill dispenser.  Each time a medication was to be taken an ever more persistent alarm would sound to remind their loved one to take their medicine.  Some of these devices can even use a phone connection to dial a central database and report the activity of the unit.  This worked well for time, but one day their parent decided that this device was annoying, unplugged it, and put it under the bed.  Any attempts to reset the unit resulted in some similar behavior.  A new approach had to be found.

So for caregivers caring for parents with dementia, simply be prepared to monitor and make adjustments with any solution you might consider.  Technology can be a temporary suppport tool.  The news is better if your parent is not dealing with significant cognitive problems.  In this case, technology can be a real and lasting support tool.