In the United Kingdom, out of a total population of 66.4 million, approximately 11 million (20%) lack digital skills, and 8.4 million (8.5%) never go online, and just over half of the latter are aged over 65.
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Approximately 70% of the people aged 65 to 74 years are online, compared with 52% of those aged 75 to 84 years, and 38% aged ≥85 years. In the United States, around 80% of the population accesses the internet, but its use falls sharply with increasing age. However, estimates suggest that 37% of the world’s estimated 7.8 billion population are digitally excluded, with older people, people on low incomes, and other marginalized groups most likely to be affected. Supporting people to use digital health resources may help improve access to services, improve physical and mental well-being, and encourage shared decision-making. The annual survey of 770,000 patients in UK family practice has described small increases in the proportion of people booking appointments (14.9% in 2019, up from 12.9% in 2018) and ordering repeat prescriptions online (16.2% in 2019, up from 14.3% in 2018). A survey of patients aged 65 years and over in 9 countries in 2013 reported that over three-quarters preferred to book and manage their medical appointments online, and over three-quarters felt that online access to medical records was important. Digital technologies were playing a growing role in connecting health and social care services with their users before the COVID-19 pandemic. The emergence of a novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2, which causes COVID-19) has led to the rapid rollout of digital technologies to support patient access to health and social care, while ensuring physical distancing. Digital technologies are electronic tools, systems, and resources that generate, store, or process data.
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Research is urgently needed in order to understand the positive and negative consequences of digital technologies on health care access and to identify the groups most vulnerable to exclusion.įor at least a decade, the World Health Organization has encouraged member states to become leaders in serving citizens online, using digital technology to improve health and social care services. Overall, we found no reviews of technology to facilitate first contact access to health and social care such as online appointment booking systems for older populations.Ĭonclusions: The impact of digital technologies on equitable access to services for older people is unclear. No studies examined technologies used for first contact access to care, such as online appointment scheduling. Most of the reviews focused on digital technologies to facilitate remote delivery of care, including consultations and therapy. All of them synthesized findings from low-quality primary studies, 2 of which used robust review methods. Results: A total of 7 systematic reviews met the inclusion criteria, providing data from 77 randomized controlled trials and 50 observational studies. We looked for reviews in a population of adults aged ≥65 years in any setting, reporting outcomes related to the impact of technologies on access to health and social care services. Methods: We conducted an umbrella review of systematic reviews published from January 2000 to October 2019 using comprehensive searches of 6 databases. Objective: In this study, we synthesized evidence on the impact of digital technologies on older adults’ access to health and social services. Older people may be disadvantaged in that regard if they are unable to use or have access to smartphones, tablets, computers, or other technologies.
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Newcastle Biomedical Research Building, Campus for Ageing and VitalityĮmail: The 2020 COVID-19 pandemic prompted the rapid implementation of new and existing digital technologies to facilitate access to health and care services during physical distancing. National Institute for Health Research Older People and Frailty Policy Research Unit JMIR Perioperative Medicine 38 articles.JMIR Biomedical Engineering 42 articles.Journal of Participatory Medicine 57 articles.
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JMIR Rehabilitation and Assistive Technologies 114 articles.JMIR Pediatrics and Parenting 117 articles.Interactive Journal of Medical Research 207 articles.JMIR Public Health and Surveillance 669 articles.Journal of Medical Internet Research 5463 articles.