Do We Really Need Elderly-Friendly Integrated Care Portals?

Elderly-friendly integrated care portals are a relatively new phenomenon that could be a helpful addition to physical primary care, for example, by lowering costs and increasing access to healthcare. However, such platforms are primarily used by younger generations currently, resulting in a “digital divide” between younger and older generations. The objective of this research study is twofold - to identify and analyse: i) the perceived primary barriers that prevent the elderly from adopting and using these technologies, and ii) what can the providers do to support increasing adoption and implementation by the elderly population. It was observed that a lack of serious commitment across relevant sectors, inadequate resources, low managed information technology and financial coordination and care routes, opposing goals and objectives, and conflict within teams are all obstacles to successful adoption and subsequent implementation of integrated care portals.