Telehealth and Homecare Agencies

Abstract

Given the fact that the world’s population is aging at an increasingly fast rate, the manner in which healthcare is delivered will need to evolve with demographics. This is especially true of the older population, given the potential barriers they face in accessing healthcare, such as mobility and financial struggles. One very effective way to overcome these barriers is to incorporate telehealth into home care agency services. Telehealth provides an efficient, affordable, and convenient way to ensure sustained health in older populations being cared for by home care agencies. Some of the ways in which incorporating telehealth into home care that will be examined in this chapter include increased ability to communicate with caretakers and healthcare providers, improved information dissemination about chronic diseases and nutrition, and postacute care such as infection prevention. In addition, challenges that will need to be overcome in order to effectively incorporate telehealth into home care will be discussed.