In this episode of Caregiver Conversations, hosts Kristie King and Antonia Harbin Lamb are joined by Alexandra “Allie” Hunter, Virtual Care Consultant at Henry Ford Health, for a thoughtful exploration of telehealth and digital equity. As virtual care becomes a more essential part of modern healthcare, Allie explains how telehealth can benefit caregivers and their loved ones, especially when time, distance, or access are barriers to in-person care. The discussion highlights the practical benefits of telehealth for older adults and caregivers, the challenges related to internet access and digital literacy, and the work being done to create more inclusive, community-rooted digital solutions. Allie also shares valuable tips for caregivers navigating virtual care for the first time, along with free resources to help build digital confidence.
Guest: Alexandra “Ally” Hunter, Virtual Care Consultant at Henry Ford Health
Topics: Telehealth, digital access, and how caregivers can confidently navigate virtual healthcare
Key topics discussed:
Contact Information:
Henry Ford Virtual Care Website: www.henryford.com/virtualcare
Ally Hunter LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/allyhunter/
Southeast Michigan Senior Regional Collaborative (SRC):
Elder Law and Advocacy Center (ELAC) : Phone: (313) 937-8291, nlsmichigan.org/elder-law/
Kristie: [00:00:00] Welcome back to Caregiver Conversations where we explore real stories, challenges and solutions that matter most to caregivers. I'm your host, Kristy King, executive director of the Southeast Michigan Senior Regional Collaborative,
Antonia: and I'm your co-host Antonia Harbin Lamb staff attorney at the Elder Law and Advocacy Center and Program manager of Great Lakes Legal Mediation Division.
Today we're diving into a critical and evolving aspect of healthcare, telehealth, and digital health equity. As more healthcare providers embrace virtual care, ensuring equitable access remains a major challenge, particularly for seniors, caregivers, and underserved communities. Joining us today is Alexandra Ally Hunter, a virtual care consultant at Henry Ford Health.
Ally plays a vital role in expanding telehealth access, advising on digital health [00:01:00] strategies, and advocating for health equity in telemedicine. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Strategic Communication from Miami University, and recently completed her Master's of Public Health at Michigan State University.
Ally, welcome to the show today.
Ally:Thank you so much for having me.
Kristie: Thank you. I'm excited to have this conversation. Well, I'm always excited to have these conversations 'cause they're always different conversations and we really try to go in different directions as we look for information to support our caregivers in the community that we serve.
So we'll start off just with the basics. So many people hear the term telehealth, but may not fully understand what it means. Ally, can you explain what Telehealth is and how it's being used today?
Ally: Yeah, so I think in its simplest form, telehealth is defined as the delivery of healthcare, health, education, and health information services via remote technologies.
So really accessing your healthcare [00:02:00] online, not in person.
Antonia: Well, that's a great foundation, Ally. Now, when we talk about digital health equity, what exactly does that mean?
Ally: So digital health equity in its simplest form is the goal of ensuring that everyone has equitable access to digital health tools and services such as telehealth.
Um, but I think when we talk about, you hear the term equitable or equality, and it's, I really, I get a lot of conversation with individuals where it's like, well, what does that actually mean? So I think when we break it down. To that equitable access to those digital health tools. You can think of it in the form of access.
So making sure that people have access to affordable internet skills or teaching technical support and devices. Then you think about the design component of digital health tools. So making sure that these solutions are designed for a default user or, um, and [00:03:00] or in addition to those default users that they're considering a diverse range of users.
So a lot of things are designed simply for able bodied, highly digitally literate individual. Uh, but there's populations on both sides of that that tend to not be considered. Um. Then we have the implementation standpoint. So are you implementing these solutions in a way that addresses the unique needs of patients?
It is not a one size fits all. And then lastly, evaluating. So evaluating the effects of digital health solutions across diff different populations within the health systems. And so taking into consideration are more populations using telephone over video? And if so, why?
Antonia: And that's very interesting. I didn't know that they had that segment.
I'm familiar with health equity, but now they've expanded into the digital. Yeah, makes sense.
Kristie: Yeah, definitely makes you think differently about how we do our work [00:04:00] and how we conduct our work. I know for us at the SRC, just the conversations and being a part of the work that Ali and her team does has been very beneficial for us.
And so we know there's a lot of benefits to all of this. Some patients and caregivers, they still prefer to come in person. It's just the comfort level there rather than telehealth, because a lot of times, you know, we're not comfortable with using the computer or we don't have the devices as you've mentioned.
Why would someone choose telehealth over traditional healthcare alley?
Ally: So I think a lot of the misconception, especially as I've had conversations with older adults, is that people assume that telehealth is in place of in-person, when in fact it's in addition to. So it is a, an additional intervention method.
For your healthcare needs, there is not the assumption that all situations and health issues should be handled online. However, if you are an older adult, [00:05:00] you might likely be managing a chronic condition, and that requires a lot of follow up and conversation and maybe multiple doctors. It also requires a lot of coordination to get that care, especially if you're getting that care in person.
So I think it's. Taking, um, a step back and looking at . All of the quote unquote requirements or needs in getting your care and what's being asked of you and looking at, does this actually warrant me to be in person or can this be a conversation remotely? So. That is a, a high level aspect of it, I think Then you have the other kind of more shiny benefits to it where you have the convenience of staying at home.
We live in a four season state. Mm-hmm . So sometimes the weather is not great and you don't wanna drive in those conditions so you don't have to leave the house if you're, if it's bad weather or if you're feeling . Really, really crummy. Um, I think from a caregiver standpoint, [00:06:00] it's also can be easier for them to attend your visit, and they don't need to be in the same place as you.
So if your parent lives on the east side and you live on the west side, you don't need to actually go to their home to be on that video visit with them. You can have a link that a provider sends to you and join from the comfort of your own home. And then I would say . Lastly, there's some byproducts that we've found where some people experience less anxiety because they're in the comfort of their own home, right?
There's sometimes you build that, the whole, all those emotions up of getting to the doctor, waiting in the waiting room, um, and. Waiting for that conversation to be had. And so if you're just in the comfort of your own home, that can allow for some ease of flow of conversation. It also can allow your doctor to see the environment that you're living in.
Mm-hmm . And then lastly, um, you know, sometimes people have to be to bring their [00:07:00] medications to the doctor's office. And if you forget one, you can easily just. Get up outta your chair, go into the next room and you know, put that bottle in front of you and read it to your doctor or show them on the screen.
Kristie: I was just thinking when you were talking about the caregivers not being in the same space. Right. I was just thinking you could even maybe if the patient is in the office and then they pipe in the caregiver as well. So a lot of options to using telehealth benefits on a number of levels in addition to those in rural areas.
Right. You know, we know that, that that whole transportation and trying to get somewhere and, and health facilities may be more scarce the further we go out into those rural areas.
Antonia: Absolutely. It does also too, help with the inclusion of, you know, others and assisting with maybe the medical needs or an emergency that's come up and how you're gonna address that.
And if you all can meet together, [00:08:00] that's such an easy process. So I really like that idea. But Ally, we're talking about technology access and also literacy. Not everyone may have reliable internet. That's some of the issues that we've seen and how to use even these platforms, new platforms, going onto them.
I know it was some issues with Zoom at first. People were having issues with that and still may have those. How do we address those barriers of just having the reliable internet as well as access to those platforms or learning about how to use those platforms?
Ally: I think one of the amazing things about the senior regional collaborative is that it's an organization that's tapped into so many other community organizations, and so I think something that we have found in our work at Henry Ford Health is that there's a lot of great community organizations doing phenomenal work in that space in terms of helping individuals [00:09:00] get affordable internet, um, for a year's worth of time or over, over a
Long span of time for them to be able to access that. There's also lots of digital skills, training available and support. Um, but it does take a village and it's not, it's not a one-off type of solution where we give them affordable internet, but. If they don't have access to a device, then um, we, they have the, another barrier for them to be able to get access to that telemedicine visit.
And so I would say it is looking at who's doing this work in the space I. Having those conversations with the relationships that they have of accessing affordable broadband and making sure it's getting in the hands of people that need it and they are aware of those resources. Um, and then offering those digital skills, training that technical support [00:10:00] to the patients, not just only in a reactive way, but in a proactive way as well.
Kristie: Yeah, I think the other part of that is that. It kind of leads into the next question is that the work that is often done when we talk about telehealth is at the individual level. Mm-hmm . And so really looking at it a little broader, why is it important for a health system like Henry Ford Health System to invest in digital equity?
Why are you guys prioritizing this as a benefit to move forward? Because it seems like as a health system, you want people to come into, I wanna see your face, I wanna touch you. I wanna do these things. Why is this important? For the community and why are you guys so invested in making sure there's some equity along the way?
Ally: So I think that's, there's two parts to that, right? Um, one being that telehealth is a way to get better access to your care. And terms of older adults predominantly [00:11:00] have chronic conditions and they are one of the largest users of the healthcare system. So many people . Struggle with appointment adherence or medication adherence because they can't keep up with the quote unquote requirement of in-person appointments.
It's just not feasible. So utilizing telehealth as a chronic disease management intervention, um, has a lot of benefits for the patient as a whole. The second thing I would say is that the world continues to become increasingly digital. So we cannot make the assumption or expectation that if we build it, they will come.
Mm-hmm . And don't have any peripheral or awareness of large populations that we're serving, that are being left behind, specifically in terms of the way in which the world continues to go from a digital standpoint. So those are. Two things that I would say [00:12:00] of why we have, um, an invested interest is that as we ask patients to be, to get their a access their healthcare more digitally and online, we need to be asking ourselves what is it that we're doing to help support and ensure that they can do this, um, from an easier aspect.
And then also, you know, there's articles that say digital inclusion is a super social determinant of health. So it, it's not just touching healthcare, it's touching, um, housing. It's, it's touching transportation. It's touching your, your banking. So, um, and those are all things that bleed into health as a whole.
Antonia: And can we go back a little bit and talk about barriers again? What are the biggest barriers that you see with digital health equity that still need to be addressed?
Ally: Yeah, I think we, when talking about digital equity from a methodology standpoint, there's probably about five buckets that I would say are [00:13:00] really easy to to think about.
It is . You've got, um, advocacy and awareness, so that looks at more of a policy level and ensuring that you have reimbursement or that there's permanent expansion of low cost broadband or free broadband. You have affordability. And so that is looks like affordability from broadband or wifi. You have technical support, so whether that's a digital navigator, a tech support hotline, and then you have digital skills, which again is digital literacy and then devices.
And so I think those are five areas that are both sides of the coin. They, they are the barriers, but they're also the solutions as well.
Kristie: I think you guys take a very unique approach, and I'll kind of lead in a little bit, but I wanted to put out there in a way that, you know, you guys are not just serving Henry Ford Health system patients.[00:14:00]
You guys are really through this work. You're addressing the community, so you're addressing a very broad, systematic way of making sure that everyone has digital access. So if a hospital, a clinic, or a community-based organization wanted to improve their telehealth access, what steps would they take?
Ally: So, and I love how, I love that you acknowledge that, Christie.
'cause that was a third point that I'd had to the, to one of your previous questions and it, it floated outta my mind, um, when answering it. But I will say that I definitely think as an organization, Henry Ford Health takes a lot of pride in being headquartered in Detroit, um, and remaining headquartered in Detroit.
And knowing that Detroit and the metro Detroit area as well as the Jackson area and. Um, our areas that we proudly serve. So we very much are that community rooted and community oriented. I think if you are a organization that you're going to embark on [00:15:00] improving digital health accessibility. There's four things to think about.
One is identifying potential disparities in access, so looking at the populations that tend to be impacted by disparities in access, which are older adults. Low socioeconomic status, limited health literacy, limited English proficiency. And taking a look at, um, just preliminary, are there any differences that you see between those groups and their usage among video visits and telephone visits?
'cause that's gonna give you the bare bones, um, just somewhere to start. The second thing I think you can do is you can mitigate digital literacy. and resources, resource barriers. So again, that goes back to digital skills and also making mention of community organizations. I think taking inventory of what community work is being done so that you're [00:16:00] not recreating the wheel.
How can you partner with the community organizations that already have established relationships, they know their people well, um, and they understand those pain points so that you can build that bridge to helping . Kind of increase those skills or add a telehealth module to a digital skills training that is already in existence.
The third thing that I would say is removing health system created barriers. So. Is a barrier that not everybody's being offered a telephone or a telemedicine visit or a video visit. Um, and why is there assumptions that this person is 65 and older, so they might not be tech savvy? So making sure that that is being offered across the board when it makes sense.
Um, also ensuring that you have integrated services. . Such as interpreter services so that you're not only offering video visits for English speaking individuals and then. The [00:17:00] last thing that I would say goes back to advocacy, but it's advocating for changes to support sustained and equitable access. Um, and again, that looks like at a, at a state, at a federal level, um, but ensuring that there is that permanent adoption of telehealth reimbursement or, you know, that expansion of low cost broadband.
So those are four things that I think are great places for any health organization to start.
Antonia: And when we think about being caregivers, how do we advocate for better telehealth, access for our loved ones?
Ally: So that's a great question. Um, I, one thing I would say specifically in the state of Michigan, there is a Michigan high speed internet office, um, that you can find online.
And they're doing amazing work in the state about how to. Increase digital equity and approach digital inclusion across the states. Um, but from an advocacy [00:18:00] standpoint, if you wanna start at a state level, um, that's an organization that I would absolutely recommend. Um, I'd also recommend even just. Even small advocacy of asking if your health organization offers telemedicine and if they don't, why, um, and sharing what you think the benefits are because I, I wanna empower everybody to know that their voice matters and sharing their thoughts and opinions matters and it can actually move the needle.
But, um, those are two ways that I would say, or at least resources that I would share that can, um, help them advocate. .
Kristie: So with that in mind, and looking ahead, where do you see Telehealth in the next five to 10 years?
Ally: I would love for all specialties to be offering telehealth. Mm-hmm . I think, um, I think one thing that I would also love is that permanent adoption of telehealth reimbursement right now.
Mm-hmm . We're kind of always in this kick, [00:19:00] the can down the road with CMS and they have these extensions of the waivers that have come out mm-hmm. Of the COVID-19. Pandemic, um, one that exists right now is at the end of March, so I would, I would like it to be . Permanently adopted within the LA next five years.
Where else? I see it going. Um, I mean, I think that there's, I am a glass half full kind of gal, so I think that there is the ability to have increased adoption, um, especially with our older adults. There is now an understanding of the importance and the need for digital skills in navigating their healthcare.
Um, but I really think . Also the use cases of it are just going to get more, continued to be creative in ways of which identifying where, what the patient need is and how to utilize telemedicine and telehealth as [00:20:00] a way to solve that need.
Antonia: And before we wrap up, Ally, what final advice would you give to caregivers navigating telehealth for the first time?
Ally: So my final advice would be don't be intimidated. There are so many resources that exist out there online, and I can share with you all if you wanna include that in any, any of your resources for the podcast. Um, make sure you have proxy access for your loved one's patient portal to help them with their care.
And what that means is that means that you're allowed permissions to go in and make appointments and view their medical records and communicate with their doctor. I'd also take some time to look at their doctor appointments with their loved one and identify which ones might be able to be . Remote or where you can be added into the visit and that, um, know that this solution benefits you as much [00:21:00] as your loved one caregiver.
Burnout and fatigue is real. Yeah. So it's really important to utilize it to make everyone's lives easier.
Antonia: So, Ally, this has been an incredibly insightful discussion For those interested in learning more about telehealth, where can they connect with you?
Ally: So if they wanna know more about telehealth and the offerings at Henry Ford Health, they can visit henry ford.com/virtual care.
They can connect with me on LinkedIn and my profile name is Ally Hunter, virtual Care consultant. Some resources that are available to caregivers who might struggle with technology or to access their telehealth. We do have tip sheets and videos on our henry ford.com website on how to access a. Or frequently asked questions.
Additionally, there are some great free of charge online resources that I would highly recommend. North Star Digital Literacy is [00:22:00] a program run by Literacy Minnesota, and you can take online assessments to increase your digital skills, including accessing a telehealth appointment, and I'll include that link with you all, but it is digital literacy assessment.org.
Or I'd also recommend digital learn.org, which is another resource with a variety of digital skills and one that specifically has getting started with telehealth.
Kristie: Thanks so much for that, Ali. We will definitely make sure to include that in our posts for our podcast, so everyone please look forward to that information as well.
Thanks, Ally. Thank you. All right. Thank you so much again, Ally. This has definitely been insightful and I think it gives our listeners a different viewpoint as they address the health of themselves as well as those that they care for. And to our listeners, if you found this episode helpful, please subscribe.
Leave us a review and share it with a fellow caregiver. For more resources, visit www.semisrc.org or contact info, that's info@miseniors.org please. You can also give us a call at (888) 341-8593,
Antonia: and to learn more about Neighborhood Legal Services Michigan, the Elder Law and Advocacy Center. . Please visit www.nlsmichigan.org or call us at (313) 937-8291.
Thank you again for tuning in and remember, you're not alone in this journey.
Kristie: Until next time, take care and keep caring.