Interview: Three future-proof solutions for preserving wellness

Axel heads up our iQ Solutions department, responsible for innovating and commercialising digital solutions for incontinence. In this interview, Axel introduces three remarkable TENA innovations designed with tomorrow’s challenges in mind: TENA SmartCare, TENA Identifi, and TENA Solutions.

TENA SmartCare is a new and revolutionary digital solution to improve incontinence care. It’s available both for family carers and for professional caregivers in nursing homes. 

It’s an easy-to-use system where you place the sensor on the outside of the absorbent product. It sends an easy notification on an app on a smartphone, and the caregiver knows when to change the product. Then you move the sensor to the next product. So it’s completely reusable; we’re not creating daily electronic waste.

Q: What are the real benefits of TENA SmartCare?

The benefits of this solution are many. For the loved one in a family home, it means a more dignified care. Less intrusion and less disturbance during midnight sleep, for example. In a nursing home, it’s also less spending time in a product nearing saturation. 

And if you take the caregiver perspective, a family caregiver gets reassurance of good care and can easily plan other tasks, knowing that your loved one is in good hands. For a professional caregiver, knowing when to change helps you to use the right products at the right time, and also to spend your time where it’s most valuable. 

And of course, from a payer perspective, this has the potential to reduce the overall spending on incontinence care.

Q: How does TENA SmartCare benefit the environment?

All of these benefits are beneficial for the environment and have an impact on society at large because spending your time at the right activity creates value. Using the products in the right way and at the right time also helps reduce overall consumption, which lowers our carbon footprint.

TENA Identifi is a world-leading digital solution for continence assessment. Using an absorbent product with built-in sensors, TENA Identify tracks the voiding over 72 hours, creating an in-depth report of voiding patterns and volumes. With this information, the caretaker can more easily make an individualised care plan.

Q: How does TENA Identifi work practically?

1. During the 72-hour assessment period comfortable TENA Identifi Sensor Wear is used instead of standard absorbent products. 
2. These disposable products measure urine voids using thread-like sensors embedded into the absorbent product away from the resident’s skin. 
3. A silent TENA Identifi logger records the filling of the urine. And the reusable logger can be easily removed and attached to the new Sensor Wear garment. 
4. The information is transmitted to a secure web portal and converted to a voiding report. 
5. Tracking is confidential and non-disruptive, and the resident’s privacy and dignity are completely protected.

Q: How has this solution been received by nursing homes?

TENA Identifi has been very well received by many nursing homes. In fact, in 2018 one nursing home received the Best Patient Safety award from their municipality. We also hear that it really provides value in terms of better wellbeing and allows caregivers to use the products more optimally, meaning they can spend time on things that really provide value.

Q: How does TENA Identifi reduce waste?

We’ve seen in several cases that TENA Identifi reduces waste. In different countries that the figure is somewhat similar, with up to 35% waste reduction. That mainly comes from using the products more optimally, by changing at the right time and by changing to the right products. This is not even including the reduction in leakages we see from TENA Identifi, which leads to reduced changes of linens and laundry costs.

TENA Solutions is an efficient way of working in partnership with care homes. It aims to find pain points and implement measurable improvements. The offering includes best-practice routines, tools, and trainings. 

The goal is to provide long-lasting effects at the care homes.

Q: How does TENA Solutions improve resident wellbeing?

Well, TENA Solutions improves wellbeing, essentially, by addressing the pain points identified. One important factor is doing it together with the care home. If doing that, and if improving the care routines, we see less leakages. And less leakages is not only good for the resident but also for the care staff – not having to change linens, not having to clean, etc. And we also know that residents will experience better skin health.

Q: How does TENA Solutions improve the working atmosphere?

When implementing best care routines it’s easier to know what to do, at the right time. You get that support, but you also see the effect of that support. So if you see that you don’t have to change linens as often, or you don’t need to do as much laundry, you also see that the skincare of the actual residents is improving. That gives you a good feeling; you’re providing additional value.

Q: How does TENA Solutions improve budget control?

TENA Solutions improves budget control generally with all the outcomes that we see from the Solutions. But it’s also less leakages, less changing of linens, more efficient work from the caregivers, and more efficient use of products.

Q: How is TENA Solutions better for the environment?

TENA Solutions is good for the environment in many ways. Let’s take two examples. Better use of products means that we have less use of absorption, thinner products, less raw material, less transportation, less changes of linens, less laundry, less energy consumption, less use of water. It might look like small contributions here and there, but it actually adds up to something significant.

Q: How does TENA Solutions work together with TENA Identifi?

TENA Solutions, TENA Identifi and TENA SmartCare fit beautifully together. With TENA Solutions you get trainings, tools, and expert advice, to improve the care routines in your nursing home. With TENA Identifi you get an individualised care plan based on specific voiding patterns for specific residents, to further tailor and optimise the toileting routines. With TENA SmartCare you get an easy-to-use and intuitive digital solution that tells the caregiver when to change the product.