How to Make Telehealth Services Easier—and More Accessible—for Everyone

Telemedicine’s ultimate success will depend in large part on technology—how seamless patients will find the process, and the digital divide that now keeps many physicians from offering telehealth services and patients from accessing them. While well-capitalized academic medical centers have invested heavily in hardware, software, help-desk staff and social-equity initiatives, smaller practices with fewer resources are falling behind when it comes to providing telemedicine. Health systems want to increase access to telemedicine for disadvantaged groups, such as nonwhite, poor and rural patients. Another issue holding some patients back is lack of trust in the process, particularly among patients who haven’t had a telehealth appointment, says Kristin Rising, director of the Center for Connected Care at Jefferson Health in Philadelphia. Dr. Rising says she and her team are working on an effort to target patients who would benefit from education and outreach related to telemedicine. “Telemedicine is more accessible for patients, and it is faster for getting care,” she says. “But the issue is getting people to understand that.”