Rethinking the Gap in Senior Technology Adoption
Author: Cole Sorensen
Posted: April 1, 2025
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Many assume that seniors are hesitant to adopt technology for their healthcare needs, but the data tells a different story. Recent studies suggest that older adults are not just using digital tools; they’re embracing them—particularly text messaging—at unprecedented rates. This shift opens new opportunities for home health and hospice agencies to modernize communication strategies and better connect with the populations they serve.
As tech-enabled care becomes the standard for home care engagement and monitoring, providers must acknowledge the reality that seniors are not only open to using digital health tools, but actively integrating them into their daily lives. This shift demands that healthcare technology solutions be intuitive, accessible, and aligned with how seniors prefer to use digital platforms.
The Reality of Senior Technology Adoption
For years, the idea that older adults resist technology has persisted across the home care industry. However, recent data tells a different story:
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Smart Phone Usage: Statista reports that in 2023, 76% of adults older than 65 own a smartphone1. This stat has grown steadily over the past decade or so, proving that older generations are comfortable and actively using digital devices.
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Text-Messaging Engagement: Studies show that 86% of Americans over the age of 50 regularly use text messaging2, and a third of seniors even prefer texting to phone calls.
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Social Media Adoption: Around 45% of seniors are actively on social media platforms3, indicating a high level of digital media engagement.
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Telehealth Usage: By 2020, over 70% of adults over the age of 50 had used telehealth services4, demonstrating a rapid shift toward digital healthcare interactions.
These numbers dismantle the notion that seniors are hesitant to engage with technology. Instead, they highlight a demographic that is evolving with the times and adapting to the digital age alongside other generations.
Seniors and the Shift Toward Tech-Enabled Care
The rise of tech-enabled care is less about teaching seniors how to use technology—it’s recognizing that they are already on board and ensuring providers meet them where they are. Tech-enabled care services must cater to their needs by being:
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User-Friendly: Home care technology should prioritize simple user experience, with aspects such as larger text and minimal navigation steps, to enhance accessibility.
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Seamless Integration: Seniors shouldn’t have to learn entirely new systems. Instead, solutions should be incorporated into the platforms they are already comfortable using, like text-messaging and mobile apps.
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Trustworthy and Secure: Privacy remains a top priority for seniors. Tech-enabled care solutions must emphasize data security and transparency to build trust.
As older adults and seniors continue to leverage tech-enabled tools, it’s important to ensure that features are tailored to ensure clarity, ease of use, and avoid complex implementations.
The Role of Text Messaging in Healthcare Engagement
Data shows that one of the most effective ways to engage seniors in tech-enabled care is through text messaging4. Unlike app-based solutions that require downloads and logins, text messaging is universally accessible and already integrated into their daily lives:
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Improved Patient Outcomes: Text reminders for medication adherence, appointment scheduling, and follow-up care can significantly enhance patient engagement and reduce missed visits.
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Higher Engagement Rates with Patients: Data has shown that seniors respond to text-based health reminders at high rates4, proving that SMS communication is an effective way to keep them more involved in their care plans.
Text messaging bridges the gap between seniors and tech-enabled care by providing a simple yet powerful way to stay connected with their healthcare providers. By leveraging a tool that is already known to older adults, healthcare providers don’t have to worry about spending time training senior users on how to use the technology because they are using something that is already a part of their daily lives.
Where MHA Tech Steps In
At MHA, we focus on optimizing our tech-enabled care solutions for ease of use, ensuring seamless integration with existing communication habits. Our ecosystem of patient communication tools does just that:
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nanaCONNECT: Our RPM communication tool is designed to simplify patient check-ins with a daily text-based messaging system that allows providers to check on patients’ well-being. Patients receive a daily message asking them to rate their well-being on a scale of 1-5. Patients can easily communicate their needs through text, enabling timely intervention if needed.
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NOTIFYnana: This text-based notification tool is designed to keep patients informed about their appointments and caregiver arrivals. NOTIFYnana also allows patients to communicate their feedback of care to their provider through simple text-based surveys, ensuring timely interventions, increased patient satisfaction, and enhanced continuity of care.
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nanaBEREAVEMENT: A modern approach to bereavement communication that replaces or supplements traditional paper-based bereavement letters with text messages. MHA’s CHAP-verified and ACHC-accredited nanaBEREAVEMENT delivers personalized text messages to grieving individuals, allowing for more tailored, efficient, supportive, and cost-saving bereavement communications. By using a risk assessment score for each contact, nanaBEREAVEMENT enables hospice agencies to customize bereavement messaging and resources for individualized support, enhancing the experience for recipients.
The MHA Difference
Older adults are texting, using smartphones, and engaging with digital healthcare tools at increasing rates. At MHA, we understand that the perception that seniors are reluctant to use technology is simply not true, and our tech-enabled care products are designed to integrate with seniors’ existing communication habits. Our ecosystem of nana communication tools leverage text messaging and AI-driven solutions to create a simple, efficient, and effective healthcare experience for older patients.
The future of tech-enabled care isn’t about convincing seniors to adopt technology—it’s about recognizing that they already have and ensuring that agencies evolve to meet their needs. Ready to enhance patient-provider communication at your home care organization? Visit our website at www.maxwellhca.com, or reach out at [email protected].
Resources:
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Statista. "Percentage of U.S. Smartphone Owners by Age Group." Statista, 2024. Accessed March 10, 2025. https://www.statista.com/statistics/489255/percentage-of-us-smartphone-owners-by-age-group/.
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AARP. "Getting Connected: Older Americans Embrace Technology to Enhance Their Lives." AARP Public Policy Institute. Accessed March 7, 2025. https://www.aarp.org/pri/topics/technology/internet-media-devices/technology-use-attitudes/.
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AARP. "AARP Research Finds 90 Percent of Adults 50+ Use Personal Technology to Stay Connected." February 28, 2018. Accessed March 7, 2025. https://press.aarp.org/2018-2-28-AARP-Research-Finds-90-Percent-Adults-50-Use-Personal-Technology-Stay-Connected.
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AARP. 2021. 2021 Tech Trends of Older Adults. Washington, DC: AARP Research. https://www.aarp.org/content/dam/aarp/research/surveys_statistics/technology/2021/2021-tech-trends-older-adults.doi.10.26419-2Fres.00420.001.pdf.