Center of Excellence for Telehealth and Aging

Introduction –

Telehealth, COVID & Older Adults

Telehealth has been growing rapidly in recent years as a model of care.  Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, there was a great deal of interest in the transition of care to telehealth and telemedicine.  This attentiveness has become even more-so as the pandemic swept across the United States.  The pandemic has led to a significant increase in telehealth visits between patients and their health care providers.  Older Americans, while disproportionately impacted by the pandemic due to their greater risk of becoming seriously ill when infected, also face greater challenges with taking full advantage of telehealth as a modality of care; particularly those in lower-income and more remote areas.   Barriers to telehealth include access to broadband, access to technology and digital literacy.

For more information on Telehealth and older adults see the Overview.