Older adults and technology: in telehealth, they may not be who you think they are.

Overview

When we established an emergency department-based telemedicine program, we assumed that many older patients would be skeptical of the new technology and choose not to participate. Our assumption was incorrect. Of the 1052 patients we evaluated in the first several months, 355 (33%) were 60, 2 were 99. Satisfaction and quality assessment scores among older patients were similar to those for younger patients. Many of these older patients demonstrated flexibility and interest in the novel use of technology. Our emergency department-based telemedicine program resulted in safe and satisfactory care and was readily accepted by our older patients.