Adoption and Use of Telemedicine and Digital Health Services Among Older Adults in Light of the COVID-19 Pandemic: Repeated Cross-Sectional Analysis
Background: As the population ages and the prevalence of long-term diseases rises, the use of telecare is becoming increasingly frequent to aid older people. Objective: This study aims to explore the use and adoption of 3 types of telehealth services among the older population in Israel before, during, and after the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: We explored the use characteristics of older adults (aged ≥65 years) belonging to Clalit Health Services in several aspects in the use of 3 types of telehealth services: the use of digital services for administrative tasks; the use of synchronous working-hours telehealth visits with the patient’s personal physician during clinic business hours; and the use of after-hours consultations during evenings, nights, and weekends when the clinics are closed. The data were collected and analyzed throughout 3 distinct periods in Israel: before the COVID-19 pandemic, during the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, and following the COVID-19 peak. Results: Data o