Rhode Island Program Gives Seniors the Support They Need to Use Telehealth

A Rhode Island-based Accountable Care Organization has launched a new program that aims to give seniors the resources they need to use telehealth.

Integra is partnering with the Pawtucket Housing Authority and the Rhode Island Parent Information Network (RIPIN) on the program, which provides mHealth-enabled tablets and a bilingual community health worker to help seniors learn how to use telehealth, then connect with a care provider for a scheduled visit.

The program was piloted earlier this year at two senior housing complexes in Pawtucket, and is now being rolled out to seniors throughout the city, thanks to a grant from the Rhode Island Foundation. It’s available to any senior in the city, regardless of insurance coverage, whose care provider offers connected health services.

The program addresses a significant barrier to care access, in that seniors and other underserved populations may not know how to use telehealth or have the means to acquire the technology to access care.

In this case, the program send a community health worker to the senior’s home with the technology needed to conduct a telehealth visit, helps the senior understand how to use the laptop and log into the care provider’s telehealth portal, and can stay with the senior to provide any support needed during that visit.

It’s one of many being launched across the country to breach those barriers to access and to help underserved populations use telehealth. They range from projects to expand broadband connectivity into rural areas and give low-income families the equipment or access points they need to use telehealth, to programs launched by healthcare organizations to identify patients in need of support and coaching before a virtual visit.to tackle