Previously submitted to: Journal of Medical Internet Research (no longer under consideration since Apr 16, 2021)
Date Submitted: Jul 13, 2020
Warning: This is an author submission that is not peer-reviewed or edited. Preprints - unless they show as "accepted" - should not be relied on to guide clinical practice or health-related behavior and should not be reported in news media as established information.
Equity in Telemedicine for Older Adults During the Covid-19 Pandemic
ABSTRACT
The COVID-19 pandemic spurred unprecedented progress on a paradigm shift to telemedicine to limit exposure to the virus. Telemedicine has many benefits. In the West China Hospital of Sichuan University, we use it to do COVID-19 related tele-educations to health professionals and general population, tele-diagnosis, online treatment and internet-based drug prescription and delivery. However, at our practices, we are noticing that many older adults could not make appointment with doctors due to their difficulty using the internet-based platform. We worried that older adults who need healthcare the most are not well prepared for this rapid change. We need to pay attention to avoid causing treatment disparities for vulnerable older adults 60 years of age and over. Researchers and policy makers should work together to study effective strategies and make proper policies to mitigate barriers older adults face when using telemedicine.
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