Health Systems Partner to Launch Telehealth Initiative for Older Adults
Experts from UVA Health, a Virginia-based academic health system, have helped launch a new national initiative to ensure telehealth care meets the unique needs of older adults.
The new Center of Excellence For Telehealth and Aging is a joint effort among the West Health Institute, the Mid-Atlantic Telehealth Resource Center based at UVA Health and UVA Health’s geriatrics section. A collection of toolkits, guides and research reports is available to help healthcare providers and health systems successfully implement “age-inclusive telehealth that enables older adults to successfully age in place and preserve their quality of life,” according to the center’s website. Experts part of the center are also available to answer questions about how to incorporate age-inclusive components into telehealth initiatives around the country.
Telehealth use among older adults spiked during the COVID-19 pandemic, said Dr. Laurie Archbald-Pannone, a UVA Health geriatrician who serves as medical director for the center. Before the COVID-19 public health emergency, about 13,000 patients enrolled in Medicare fee-for-service insurance plans received telehealth visits each week; by April 2020, this figure jumped to 1.7 million visits weekly – almost half of all visits by Medicare beneficiaries.
The center has identified three principles vital for age-inclusive telehealth programs:
- Equitable and accessible: All people should have equal access to the same level of high-quality care regardless of age, ability, socioeconomic status, access to technology or health and technology literacy.
- Person-centered: Older adults should be at the center of decision-making —accounting for their care preferences, goals, wishes, abilities, support system and health conditions.
- Integrated and coordinated: Health systems should facilitate access to the information and support necessary to provide quality care to older adults, including cooperation and communication between and within systems and stakeholders.
Photo source: uvahealth.com
