When it comes to cost saving through healthcare application development, the audience where a healthcare organization will see the greatest value is among senior citizens. This is the argument made by Bridge Patient Portal’s Rebecca Brunelle, CPNP, in a recent article about healthcare IT and technology training for this growing population.
Three major trends are afoot:
- Senior citizens (individuals of age 65 and over) account for the fastest growing sector of the U.S. population, projected to grow from 47.7 million in 2015 to 65.1 million in 2025 – an increase of 36% in just a decade.
- Seniors seek medical care often, so the group also accounts for a disproportionate number of healthcare dollars spent, or nearly double what is spend in the middle-aged population.
- This population is also increasingly tech-savvy, with internet and cell phone use on the rise. Internet use among seniors increased from 53% in 2013 to 59% in 2014. The number of seniors with a cell phone rose from 69% in 2012 to 77% in 2014.
These circumstances indicate a window of opportunity to engage seniors with healthcare technology, improving health outcomes and generating cost saving through new fee-for-value incentives programs like MACRA.
How can this be done? In her article, Brunelle discusses the unique challenges that seniors still face in adopting new technology, and how these barriers can be overcome through tailored healthcare app development and audience-sensitive technology training. For healthcare delivery networks, a multi-pronged strategy is essential for engaging senior citizen patients and achieving better health outcomes for this important group.
