Telemedicine: Not Just For Millennials
It would be a mistake to think that Baby Boomers are not tech savvy. Many reports and industry experts focus telemedicine implementation toward the Millennial Generation. It makes sense; Millennials seem to have been born with a predisposition to technology, and there are over 70 million of them. But don’t think telemedicine is only for them because you would be wrong.
The PEW Research Center reported in 2017 that 42% of adults 65 and older own a smartphone. Almost 70% of seniors use the Internet, and this is a 55% increase in less than 20 years. Half of American seniors have a broadband connection at home. The technologies used by Millennials today were probably invented by a Boomer. Some pioneering people in this age group are Bill Gates (Microsoft), Steve Jobs & Steve Wozniak (Apple), and Sir Tim Berners-Lee (The Internet).
According to the AARP (formerly the American Association of Retired Persons) 33% of Americans are 50 years old or older. According to the last official census there are 40 million Americans who are 65 or older, and that age group grew faster than the total US population. By 2030, 20% will be 65 years old or older. What does this mean? The population of adults 65+ will have doubled from 37 million to 71.5 million between the years of 2006 and 2030.
That is a lot of Baby Boomers.
Baby Boomers Have A Lot of Chronic Conditions & They Like Telemedicine
Boomers have a higher rate of chronic illness than Millennials or other generational groups. They are also living longer despite these chronic conditions. Telemedicine and chronic illness work very well together and there is evidence showing significantly improved outcomes for patients being treated for chronic illness through a remote patient engagement platform.
Also, Medicare has recently made progessive changes to reimbursements in regards to telemedicine. If this current reimbursement trend should continue, this generation will be in a perfect position to take advantage of your telemedicine offering when they reach the age of Medicare eligibility. Due to the recent and forthcoming changes, if your healthcare organization has yet to adopt a telemedicine platform, it makes strategic sense to move forward sooner than later.
Grow Your Patient Population & Grow Your Top-Line Revenue Stream
Having a fully integrated patient engagement platform running within your organization provides some serious benefits for these patients and your company:
- Expanding your reach to this important and huge patient population;
- Keeping them within your organization;
- Enhancing patient outcomes by providing the continuity of care and convenience they want.
Learn how eVisit can meet the needs of all of your patients, mimic your current workflow, while growing your top-line revenue stream. Schedule a consultation with one of our Telemedicine Consultants for Enterprise Solutions.
