title: Homebound patients' perspectives on technology and telemedicine: A qualitative analysis.
abstract: Telemedicine holds promise in bridging the gap between homebound patients and high quality health care, but uptake of such technology remains limited. Qualitative interviews conducted with 17 homebound patients found two major barriers to telemedicine. First, participants who lack familiarity with technology are hesitant about telemedicine, as baseline use of technology in the home is limited, participants did not feel capable of learning, and the advantages of telemedicine were unclear. Second, homebound patients place a high value on in-office visits due to therapeutic benefit, face-to-face communication, and the social aspect of medical appointments.
authors.affiliation: a Division of Internal Medicine and Adult Primary Care , Tufts Medical Center , Boston , Massachusetts , USA.|b Department of Internal Medicine , Brigham and Women's Hospital , Boston , Massachusetts , USA.
authors.forename: Kristin T L
authors.initials: KT
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.affiliation: c Harvard Medical School , Boston , Massachusetts , USA.
authors.forename: Tracy J
authors.initials: TJ
authors.lastname: Lu
authors.affiliation: d University of Massachusetts , Boston , Massachusetts , USA.
authors.forename: Forootan
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Alizadeh
authors.affiliation: e Department of Dermatology , Harvard Medical School , Boston , Massachusetts , USA.|f Department of Dermatology , Brigham and Women's Hospital , Boston , Massachusetts , USA.
authors.forename: Arash
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Mostaghimi
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D005260:Female; D018577:Homebound Persons / Q000523:psychology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010465:Perception; D036301:Qualitative Research; D013672:Technology / Q000379:methods / Q000592:standards*; D017216:Telemedicine / Q000379:methods / Q000592:standards*
keywords: Community and home care; engaged technology; home health care; literacy technology; service delivery/utilization; technology