The United States is aging rapidly. The number of older adults aged 65 and older grew by 34% between 2012 and 2022, and by 2040 more than 78 million Americans will be 65 or older, more than double the number in 2000. That demographic shift is colliding with a significant geriatric workforce shortage. With fewer than 7,000 certified geriatricians nationwide, many elderly patients struggle to secure timely in-person appointments. Travel limitations, chronic conditions, and caregiver availability often prevent seniors from regularly visiting their doctors. Telehealth addresses this gap directly, and the evidence for its effectiveness with older populations is growing. Your Health MagazineFortune Business Insights
What the Research Shows About Telehealth for Older Adults
A 2025 systematic review of telehealth interventions for adults aged 65 and older found consistently positive outcomes across a range of care types:
- Reported benefits included improved physical function, better chronic disease control, greater health knowledge, and reductions in avoidable hospitalizations. Video-based programs showed greater effectiveness, while telephone-only interventions were most useful when combined with remote monitoring. Manhattan Mental Health Counseling
- Evidence from multiple studies confirms cost reductions of up to 15%, increased follow-up compliance, and improved quality of life outcomes in various geriatric care contexts. Patient satisfaction with telehealth was equal or greater compared to in-person care. GlobeNewswire
- A majority of clinicians who serve older adults report that perceived advantages of telehealth outweigh its challenges in geriatric populations, and 55% report that telehealth improves healthcare for older adults by enhancing engagement between stakeholders. Indianaheadlines
What Geriatric Telehealth Visits Look Like in Practice
Telehealth is well-suited to a wide range of geriatric care encounters:
- Chronic disease management check-ins for diabetes, hypertension, COPD, and heart failure
- Medication reviews and medication therapy management, where the primary goal is reviewing the medication list, identifying interactions, and adjusting doses
- Cognitive assessments and dementia monitoring using validated virtual tools
- Mental health support for depression, anxiety, and grief, which are significantly underdiagnosed and undertreated in older adults
- Care coordination appointments involving the patient, their primary care provider, and specialist teams
- Post-hospitalization follow-up visits to reduce readmission risk
- Advance care planning conversations, which benefit from the privacy and comfort of a patient’s home setting
SecureVideo’s platform supports health systems running geriatric programs across multiple sites, as well as smaller practices serving older adult panels without the infrastructure of a large institution.
The Caregiver Dimension
Geriatric telehealth is rarely a two-person encounter. In one study, 82% of homebound patients with a mean age of 82.7 years, 46.6% of whom had dementia, required assistance from a family member or paid caregiver to complete a telehealth visit. That is not a failure of the model. It is an opportunity to include caregivers meaningfully in the care conversation in a way that in-person visits often make logistically difficult. Market Research Future
When a caregiver joins a virtual visit from their own location or sits alongside the patient at home, the provider gains a fuller picture of the patient’s daily functioning, medication adherence, and emotional state than a brief in-person appointment typically allows. Dyadic telehealth interventions explicitly designed to benefit both patients and caregivers showed aims including strengthening patient-caregiver relationships, reducing caregiver burden, improving self-efficacy, and enhancing the mental health, quality of life, and wellbeing of caregivers. Manhattan Mental Health Counseling
SecureVideo’s group session feature can facilitate caregiver support groups and psychoeducation sessions for family members of patients with dementia or complex chronic conditions, extending the benefit of the clinical relationship beyond the patient alone.
Addressing Technology Barriers for Older Adult Patients
Technology barriers are real for this population and any honest discussion of geriatric telehealth has to address them directly:
- Barriers associated with aging include cognitive and sensory impairments and reliance on caregivers or family members to assist with technology. Older adults with visual impairments are less likely to have or know how to use a cell phone, tablet, or computer. Market Research Future
- Greater barriers for adults aged 80 and older highlight the need for hybrid or assistive care models. GlobeNewswire
Several strategies reduce these barriers effectively:
- SecureVideo’s one-click session access requires no app download or account creation for patients joining a session, minimizing the technical steps an older adult must navigate
- E-documents sent in advance allow caregivers to help patients complete intake forms before the session, reducing pressure during the visit itself
- Automated reminders with clear, simple language and the session link embedded reduce the confusion that leads to missed appointments
- Audio-only fallback through SecureVideo’s hybrid video engine ensures that patients who struggle with video can still access care without rescheduling
Building a Hybrid Model for Geriatric Patients
Hybrid care models that combine telehealth with in-person visits are especially well received by the oldest-old, offering a balance between technological convenience and interpersonal trust. For most geriatric practices, the right model is not a full transition to virtual care but a thoughtful integration: routine medication management, care coordination, and mental health check-ins conducted virtually, with in-person visits reserved for physical examinations, procedures, and the encounters where presence matters most. GlobeNewswire
Learn how SecureVideo supports geriatric care providers and health systems with secure, flexible, purpose-built telehealth. Start a free trial or request a demo to see how the platform adapts to your patient population.