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Digital Health in an Ageing World

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The Role of Family Physicians in Older People Care

Part of the book series: Practical Issues in Geriatrics ((PIG))

Abstract

Population ageing and the technological revolution will impact almost all aspects of society, notably healthcare. There are several key examples in which technology can assist older adults in ageing healthily: digital applications and telemedicine, wearables, ambient assisted living, and digital coaching/teaching. Digital health solutions must be tailored to the motor skills, visual and hearing capacity of older persons, and, importantly, to target their actual needs. To that end, it is critical to partner with patients and to capitalize in user-centred design methods. The use of digital technologies by older persons also poses specific challenges, including lack of access to technology and digital literacy skills; inadequate medical reimbursement schemes; lack of legal and regulatory frameworks; and concerns about data security. Policy frameworks call for increased access to digital technologies, universal and affordable access to the Internet, and investments in expanding the infrastructure needed. It is thus becoming critical that family doctors develop digital skills to support and best advise their patients on the use of these innovative tools, notably the older persons.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Global Health Innovation, Imperial College London, London, UK

    Ana Luísa Neves

  2. Center for Health Technology and Services Research/Department of Community Medicine, Health Information and Decision, Faculty of Medicine, University of Porto, Porto, Portugal

    Ana Luísa Neves

  3. Department of Behavioural and Cognitive Sciences, University of Luxembourg, Esch-sur-Alzette, Luxembourg

    Charilaos Lygidakis

  4. Department of Utilization Management, Oscar Health, Dallas, TX, USA

    Kyle Hoedebecke

  5. Department of Community Medicine, Health Information and Decision, Faculty of Medicine, University of Porto, Porto, Portugal

    Luís de Pinho-Costa

  6. Department Geriatric Care, Orthogeriatrics and Rehabilitation, Galliera Hospital, Genoa, Italy

    Alberto Pilotto

  7. Department of Interdisciplinary Medicine, University of Bari, Bari, Italy

    Alberto Pilotto

Authors
  1. Ana Luísa Neves
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  2. Charilaos Lygidakis
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  3. Kyle Hoedebecke
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  4. Luís de Pinho-Costa
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  5. Alberto Pilotto
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Ana Luísa Neves .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Primary Care Department USL Toscana Sud Est, Grosseto, Italy

    Jacopo Demurtas

  2. Department of Internal Medicine and Geriatrics, University of Palermo, Palermo, Italy

    Nicola Veronese

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Neves, A.L., Lygidakis, C., Hoedebecke, K., de Pinho-Costa, L., Pilotto, A. (2022). Digital Health in an Ageing World. In: Demurtas, J., Veronese, N. (eds) The Role of Family Physicians in Older People Care. Practical Issues in Geriatrics. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-78923-7_8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-78923-7_8

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-030-78922-0

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-030-78923-7

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