“Frank, you’ve got coronary heart disease,” said the cardiologist at Duke Health, during an anxiety-filled visit. “But don’t worry, we’ve got just the thing to help you manage it at home.”
“Betty, you’ve got to take better care of your diabetes!” the nurse at UNC Health told her. “I’ll discharge you with a device to help you keep it under control.”
“Margaret, your COPD has been flaring up more often,” the pulmonologist at WakeMed mentioned with concern. “I think it’s time we get you set up with a new device to help you breathe.”
These could be your aging parents, leaving the doctor’s office with a glimmer of hope. Unfortunately, none of them will get the help they need. And, they may die because of it.
Why?
Because of insurance companies denying claims? Due to product shortages?
No. It’s much simpler than that.
It’s because they don’t know how to use these new digital health tools. The tech-enabled devices will sit in their boxes, unused. Lifesaving potential, untapped. Weeks later, your parent lands in the hospital with a severe complication – one that could have been prevented with the right digital health intervention.
Due to lack of tech literacy in the older population, these patients – and millions like them – won’t benefit from these life-changing tools.
Running one of the fastest-growing health tech startups in America, I see this every day in our communities, across North Carolina and beyond. It’s absolutely heartbreaking.
The meteoric rise of digital health innovation is colliding with the stubborn challenge of the “digital skills divide” for senior citizens. It’s a collision that threatens to exacerbate dangerous health disparities, as the patients who could benefit most from health tech advances are too often the ones left behind.
It’s a preventable disaster, and as a society, we urgently need to take action.
Health equity can’t exist without digital equity
The digital revolution in healthcare is here. Rapid advances in AI, telemedicine and remote patient monitoring are reshaping how care is delivered and received across our country.
Our aging population, those most affected by chronic disease, finds themselves on the periphery of the digital health revolution. Outside, looking in. Unable to access the very tools designed to help them.
As the CEO of CareYaya Health Technologies, I’ve witnessed firsthand the positive impact that digital health tools and AI can have on the well-being of older adults. Sadly, I’ve also witnessed the barriers that older adults face in utilizing this technology.
The consequences are dire. As health tech rapidly advances, a widening digital divide threatens to marginalize our elders further, compromising their ability to lead healthy, autonomous lives.
In this article, I illuminate the path toward a future where every elder has the tools and knowledge to navigate the digital health landscape confidently. Digital health literacy is a critical yet overlooked component in today’s shifting healthcare ecosystem – and there is something we can all do about it!
The enormous potential of digital health technology to save lives
The benefits of increasing digital health literacy among seniors are profound and far-reaching. The American Medical Association recently recognized digital health literacy as a key social determinant of health for older adults, as critical as access to food and transportation. By equipping our seniors with the skills to navigate the digital world, we empower them to manage their health proactive
For coronary heart disease, there are now mobile EKG devices that can record medical-grade electrocardiograms anytime concerning symptoms strike. Smaller than a credit card, these devices easily attach to a smartphone and can instantly analyze heart rhythms, detecting arrhythmias like atrial fibrillation that increase risk of stroke. Results can be securely sent to a cardiologist for review.
For diabetes, we have a proliferation of continuous glucose monitors. These devices use a tiny sensor worn on the skin to measure glucose levels in interstitial fluid every few minutes, day and night. Readings are sent wirelessly to a smartphone app, allowing patients to visualize trends, track how diet and exercise impact blood sugar, and share data remotely with their doctor. Some models can even alert patients if glucose rises or falls out of target range.
In COPD management, new “smart inhalers” use Bluetooth technology to detect when patients use their inhaler, tracking the date, time and number of puffs. This data synchronizes to an app where patients can log symptoms and triggers. Doctors can remotely monitor inhaler usage, identify patients who are relying too heavily on rescue medication, and intervene early to prevent lung function decline and hospitalizations.
Technologies like these and others are being rapidly developed and brought to market by companies like CareYaya and other leading innovators in the health tech realm.
CareYaya, for example, has launched a suite of AI-powered digital health tools to help elders living with dementia and Alzheimer’s. Our exponentially growing impact has attracted the backing of the National Institutes of Health and Johns Hopkins School of Medicine to roll out these tools nationwide. Yet even in our case, digital health literacy remains a key challenge for the people that stand to benefit the most from these innovations.
So, we decided to do something about it. Rather than wait around for government or large hospital systems to address this growing problem, we built a grassroots effort to help. And you can too.
History repeats: The high stakes of the digital divide for seniors and why it matters
We’ve seen this play out before with previous waves of tech disruption. The rise of e-commerce in the early 2000s left many seniors behind, struggling to navigate unfamiliar interfaces and wary of entering credit card information online. It took concerted efforts to bridge the digital divide and ensure older adults could participate in the online economy.
Today, we stand at a similar inflection point with digital health technology. Will we allow innovation to sprint ahead while leaving a generation behind? Or will we make the investments needed to ensure every patient, regardless of age, can take full advantage of the digital health revolution?
For America’s seniors, the consequences of the digital health literacy gap are profound. Chronic conditions skyrocket with age, especially as people live past 65.