Telehealth changes could help rural seniors age in place - Entrepreneur Generations

Falls are a big risk for seniors, possibly leading to hospital stays, surgeries and rehabilitation. That goes double for rural seniors who may be far away from help or family who might check in on them. But proposed changes to rural broadband and telehealth could help seniors deal with falls better, allowing them to stay in their homes longer, Craig Settles writes for The Daily Yonder.

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services recently proposed to pay doctors more for tele-health appointments, which would make such services more readily available to rural seniors who need them for general medical services, mental health services, and home health care.

Telehealth can significantly reduce the amount of mental health medication that seniors need, according to Nancy Hamilton, executive director of Hearthstone senior living buildings in Pella, Iowa. "In 2015 our anti-psychotropic medications use was at 15.5 percent and now it’s at 6.8 percent even though our acuity of patients with behaviors has increased," she told Settles. "Encounter Telehealth [their vendor] brings constant touch points with psychiatric professionals that we need."

And with telehealth services, hospitals can better monitor recently discharged seniors to ensure they don't need to be readmitted for complications.

But these improved telehealth services hinge on seniors having access to good and affordable broadband internet. Low-income seniors are likely to have a smartphone but not likely to have wifi at home without a data cap, according to Angela Siefer, director of the National Digital Inclusion Alliance.

To that end, the Federal Communications Commission announced recently that it might commit $100 million for telehealth from the Universal Service Fund.

from The Rural Blog https://ift.tt/2M2c14Z Telehealth changes could help rural seniors age in place - Entrepreneur Generations

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