Wandering: Unearthing New Tracking Devices.

Wandering away from home or facilities is dangerous for patients with dementia and stressful for families and caregivers when those who go missing cannot be located. Up to 60% of Alzheimer's disease patients wander, and up to 50% of those who are not found within 24 hours face serious injury or death. Currently, no effective drug therapies exist to abate wandering, which has multiple causes, but emerging technologies offer a promise of comfort in being able to easily locate a missing loved one. As of 2012, 41 states had enacted Silver Alert programs that broadcast information about missing, vulnerable adults. Numerous technologies, such as wearable global positioning system trackers and temporary barcodes worn on fingernails, exist to ease the fears of families and caregivers, locate residents, and hasten their return. While these strategies offer promise, issues of expense, effectiveness, privacy, and ethics remain.