CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (CBS19 NEWS) -- A new national initiative aims to ensure that telehealth care meets the needs of older adults.

The University of Virginia Health System is helping to lead this effort along with the West Health Institute, the Mid-Atlantic Telehealth Resource Center at UVA Health and UVA Health’s geriatrics sections.

According to a release, a collection of toolkits, guides and research reports is now available to help health care providers and health systems implement age-inclusive telehealth services.

There are also experts who are available to answer questions on how to incorporate age-inclusive components into telehealth initiatives across the country.

Laurie Archbald-Pannone, MD, says that during the COVID-19 pandemic, telehealth use spiked among older adults.

Before the pandemic, there were about 13,000 patients enrolled in Medicare to get telehealth visits each week, but by April 2020, that number had jumped to 1.7 million visits a week.

“While telehealth utilization rates have declined below the levels seen early in the pandemic, the two-year trends of telehealth use among Medicare beneficiaries continue to be higher than pre-pandemic levels,” Archbald-Pannone said. “When done well, telehealth can increase access to care, allowing patients to connect directly with their care team to discuss urgent or chronic issues. When not done well, telehealth can increase barriers to care and further limit access, especially in rural communities and communities with vulnerable access to care.”

The release says there are three principles that are necessary for age-inclusive telehealth programs.

The first is equal access to the same level of care regardless of age, ability, socioeconomic status, access to technology or health, and technology literacy.

The second is that older adults should be at the center of decision-making in order to account for care preferences, goals, wishes, abilities, support systems and health conditions.

And finally, health systems should facilitate access to information and support necessary to provide quality care to older adults, such as communication between and within systems.

For more information on the Center for Excellence for Telehealth and Aging, click here.