Breaking Down Telehealth Inclusivity Barriers for Older Adults

Older Americans are increasingly drawn to new technology, with smartphone adoption growing from 70% to 77% in two years, according to January 2020 AARP research. Nearly nine in 10 (86%) Americans ages 50 to 59 own a smartphone, with 81% adoption for those ages 60 to 69 and 62% for adults 70 or older.

AARP also found that three in four older adults want to stay in their homes and age in place, which is more important than ever due to the global pandemic.

COVID-19 has greatly changed the outlook for telehealth — 76% of consumers are now interested in using telehealth moving forward, compared to just 11% in 2019, and providers are reporting 50-175 times the number of telehealth visits than they did pre-COVID, according to McKinsey & Company. Forrester predicts that virtual care visits will soar to more than 1 billion by year’s end, including 900 million visits related to the coronavirus.

Telehealth is essential to keeping people healthy and safe during the pandemic, and it has great potential to increase healthcare access for older adults in the future. However, it can also be stressful for those averse to the idea of using technology to speak with their doctor.

"They've had difficulty embracing new technology in the past, but now coronavirus fears have propelled our patients to be more accepting of it,” Stephanie Chow, MD, assistant professor of geriatrics and palliative medicine at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City, told AARP earlier this year.

As patients who would prefer to receive in-person care now connect with their doctors virtually, it’s important for healthcare providers to ensure their telemedicine platforms are inclusive for users of all ages and levels of digital literacy. Here are a few tips to improve the user experience:

• Provide education and support: Nearly half (47%) of older adults (ages 50-80) cite difficulty using the technology as a top telehealth concern, according to the University of Michigan National Poll on Healthy Aging report. Equip patients with all the tools they need to schedule a telehealth appointment, download the app, and access the platform. Create FAQs, video tutorials, and other educational materials to make it easy for new users to learn about the telehealth process and troubleshoot. Offer technical support within the platform by providing a phone number and/or button patients can use to connect directly with support.
   
• Allow for more channels: 73% of adults 65 and older report using the internet in 2019 (up from 14% in 2000), but 12% use smartphones as their primary means of online access at home and do not have traditional home broadband service, according to the Pew Research Center. Omnichannel support is the best solution for making telehealth accessible to the broadest user base. As such, platforms should let patients take their appointments from smartphones, tablets or computers.
   
• Offer clear instructions: Provide your patients with clear instructions and write in plain English — avoid using jargon. Explain to patients why you’re asking them for particular information and provide a status tracker so they know about the steps required to schedule and attend a virtual appointment.
   
• Use fewer screens: Simplify the user journey as much as possible by reducing the number of screens required during the user journey.
   
• Add accessibility features: The University of Michigan found that four in 10 (39%) of older Americans were concerned about being able to see and hear their doctor during a telemedicine appointment. Ensure that the platform provides a large, clear view of the physician and give users the ability to control font size and adjust contrast. Enable voice control for those who prefer to speak instead of type, along with text-to-speech for those who might struggle to read a screen.
   
• Go passwordless: Don’t make tech-averse patients keep track of a username and password in order to seek virtual care. Outfitting telehealth platforms with digital identity verification makes it easy for healthcare providers to onboard patients remotely and authenticate their identity upon future virtual visits. Patients only need to take a photo of their driver’s license or other government-issued ID using their smartphone or computer’s webcam, followed by a live selfie (at which time a 3D face map is created). This ensures that the person possessing the ID is the actual person trying to open an account. For future authentication, the patient only needs to take a fresh selfie, creating a new 3D face map that can be immediately compared to the original face map. This process takes just seconds to complete.

Reviewing and reconfiguring the telehealth experience will take this exploding technology well beyond the pandemic, making remote healthcare easy for anyone — no matter their age or tech comfort level — to access.

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Written by Loryll DeNamur, Director of Content, Jumio

About Jumio

Jumio’s mission is to make the internet a safer place by protecting the ecosystems of businesses through cutting-edge online identity verification and authentication services that quickly and accurately connect a person’s online and real-world identities. Jumio’s end-to-end identity verification solutions fight fraud, maintain compliance and onboard good customers faster. To learn more, visit https://www.jumio.com/.