Technology Literacy and Telehealth: Bridging the Gap

Technology Literacy

New and novel health technologies can provide exciting new ways to monitor patient health and provide care. However, those technologies are only useful when patients and providers understand how to use them. Individuals who lack digital or technology literacy may struggle when trying to utilize many of the new technologies that have rapidly become commonplace in the realm of telehealth.

The term “technology literacy” or “digital literacy” refers to a person’s ability to use and understand technology. A technologically literate person is comfortable with technology and clearly understands what its capabilities are. Someone who lacks technology literacy may not be comfortable using technology or may greatly overestimate the capabilities of technology. While the term “technology” in incredibly broad, it encompasses many tools that are used when providing telehealth.

Why It Matters

Technology literacy can and does vary greatly from person to person. While engaging with telehealth may seem simple to those who are technologically literate, the tools used can prove to be an unsurpassable barrier to those who do not have technology experience or understanding. All types of telehealth require a basic level of literacy with technology – even audio-only telehealth often requires patients to use a smart phone, computer, or tablet.

Some studies estimate that more than 15% of adults in the United States lack basic technology literacy – an estimated 5% of adults in the United States have no experience with computers at all. While digital illiteracy can occur for any number of reasons – a lack of access, historical disenfranchisement, simple dislike of technology – the percentages of those who are digital illiterate are disproportionately high in populations that are already underserved. Unless technology literacy is addressed as a serious problem, telehealth won’t be able to be used to its full extent by populations that could greatly benefit from its use.

Technology Literacy and the Future of Telehealth

Health technology continues to develop, growing more intuitive and, in some cases, more complicated. Telehealth is no exception – a wide variety of telehealth apps and remote patient monitoring devices are introduced every day. These tools can be a valuable way to collect data to inform patient care decisions and to guide patient care, but only if they are able to be used correctly. Developing tools with simple user interfaces and low barriers of entry should remain a priority to promote use among those are not digitally literate.

Telehealth is valuable tool in the current and future healthcare landscape. In order to make sure that it is accessible for everyone, we must make a concentrated effort to address the issue of technology literacy. Patients should be provided with usable tools. Providers should ensure that they themselves are digitally literate and be cognizant of their patient’s level of comfort with technology.

For more information about technology literacy and promoting health equity through telehealth, see the UMTRC’s new telehealth and health equity resource page!

Further Reading:

• International Technology Education Association (ITEA)
  • Standards for Technological Literacy (STL).
• National Library of Medicine
  • Technology Literacy as a Barrier to Telehealth During COVID-19
  • New Technologies, New Disparities: The Intersection of Electronic Health and Digital Health Literacy
  • Health Literacy and Health Information Technology Adoption: The Potential for a New Digital Divide
• Literacy Information and Communication System (LINCS)
  • Digital Literacy Initiatives