A Guide for Intentional Home Telehealth Assessment: Patient and Caregiver Perceptions

Telehealth can provide expanded access to healthcare. The Comprehensive Patient Assessment for Using Telehealth at Home is a comprehensive approach for an intentional remote patient meeting that provides a high-quality patient encounter when using technology. In this study, we describe the perspectives of seriously ill older adults and their caregivers on the usability of the Comprehensive Patient Assessment for Using Telehealth at Home using technology to meet remotely and assess patients in their own homes. This study used qualitative description with semistructured interviews to explore participants' user experience of the telehealth visit using the Comprehensive Patient Assessment for Using Telehealth at Home. The overarching theme of participants' experiences with the Comprehensive Patient Assessment for Using Telehealth at Home intervention was of a continuum of acceptance of technology use. Participants felt that a combination of in-person and telehealth visits was ideal, and telehealth visits were appropriate for routine visits. In-person assessments would be necessary if the communication was not adequately received through remote technology. Other themes were satisfaction and detractors, usability of the technology, privacy and confidentiality, and timing of the telehealth visit. Telehealth presents new opportunities for patients to engage and connect with providers, allowing them to seek care in the comfort of their own home. In some circumstances, telehealth is appropriate but is not a permanent replacement for in-person visits.