Since it is the end of Telehealth Awareness Week, I thought I would talk briefly about some ways that older adults can incorporate aspects of telehealth into their care, and how their loved ones can help them do that. This is especially important for older adults who may have difficulties leaving the house and may or may not have a lot of technological literacy. Even if they do need help, telehealth can be both easy to help with and an important tool. Once again, we are a homecare agency and we do not facilitate telehealth visits, this is purely for informational purposes only.
Patient Portals
Patient portals now allow patients to directly message doctors about questions they have about their care. I’ve used it before for non-urgent medication questions, personally. And while they might be difficult to navigate for older adults, this can be a relatively easy thing for family caregivers to help with if the older adult needs it. They may even be able to use adaptive technology like text-to-speech programs to send messages on their own. You’ll also be able to review test results there.
Virtual Visits
Virtual visits may not work for everything, but they could work for certain appointments. Older adults who have trouble getting to their appointments may be able to do virtual visits through video calls. This might require more advanced technological help than written messages.
Look into your options through your doctor’s offices! It never hurts to explore your options.
Written by Brigid Coffey
