Ageism in healthcare technology: the older patients’ aspirations for improved online accessibility

OBJECTIVE: To identify concerns, barriers and facilitators impacting the use of patient portals by older patients as well as desired features in future updates. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This is a cross-sectional study consisting of 2 focus group discussions culminating in an anonymous survey administered to women who were 65 years and older receiving urogynecologic care in Northwest Ohio. RESULTS: Of the 205 women surveyed (91% response rate), providers and healthcare systems play the primary 2 roles (73% and 69%, respectively) in facilitating patients’ use of patient portal systems and telehealth applications. Barriers to use revolved around technical difficulties (50%), privacy concerns (45%), and cost of technology (24%). The most important features desired were the ability to modify the text size within the application (47%) and an intuitive, simple interface (46%). Additional assistance for navigating technical challenges was suggested, specifically set-up of accounts (36%), saving and sharing information with caregivers (35%), and sign-in and navigation of portals (32%). CONCLUSION: The paucity of age-aligned medical access software and products may lead to worsening of digital exclusion and disparities in healthcare. Portal application developers and healthcare systems must advance efforts that consider the needs of those who may be older when designing patient portals.