Why Telepractice?

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“Distance has only made us closer”

 

I have been a regular provider of Telepractice services for all ages and there are so many benefits to it!

Some are listed below:

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• Used to overcome barriers of access of care caused by distance, unavailability of specialists and impaired mobility of the student

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• It’s fun, interactive, and allows students to bond and forget about their worries

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• It allows easy assessment and analysis of progress in terms of speech and other social aspects such as ease of interaction

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• It extends clinical services to remote, rural and underserved populations and to culturally and linguistically diverse populations

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• Exists for over 20 years  and has been found to be effective and appropriate type of service delivery model which have been corroborated by studies in 2011 by Kent State University

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• There is better carryover for family and  the school environment because of direct involvement during activities

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• Students are motivated and driven to use the technology​

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• It’s a flexible system and can easily be incorporated into any school district

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• It’s convenient for the school, the teletherapists, and the parents since no travel is involved.

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• Outcomes are consistent with face to face therapy

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• HIPPA compliant

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• Telepractice can take the burden off of administration because of the partnership between teachers and providers is ongoing and self-sufficient

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• It’s cost-effective. Eliminating travel expenses, all the while ensuring continuous therapy services in the event of unexpected absences, departures, or inclement weather

 

Evidence Based:

 

“We compared the progress made by school children in speech language therapy provided through videoconferencing and conventional face-to-face speech language therapy. The children were treated in two groups. In the first group, 17 children received telemedicine treatment for 4 months, and then subsequently conventional therapy for 4 months. In the second group, 17 children received conventional treatment for 4 months and then subsequently telemedicine treatment for 4 months. The outcome measures were student progress, participant satisfaction and any interruptions to service delivery. Student progress reports indicated that the children made similar progress during the study whichever treatment method was used. There was no significant difference in GFTA-2 scores (Goldman-Fristoe Test of Articulation) between students in the two treatment groups. Satisfaction surveys indicated that the students and parents overwhelmingly supported the telemedicine service delivery model. During the study, a total of 148 of the 704 possible therapy sessions was not completed (21%); the pattern of cancellations was similar to cancellations in US public schools generally. Videoconferencing appears to be a promising method of delivering speech language therapy services to school children.”

(“A pilot study comparing the effectiveness of speech language therapy provided by telemedicine with conventional on-site therapy” by: Sue Grogan-Johnson, Robin Alvares, Lynne Rowan, Nancy Creaghead appeared in Journal of Telemedicine and Telecare in March 2010)

 

“There is a growing body of literature indicating that intense early intervention is current best practice for treating children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). Several studies demonstrate the effectiveness of parents as agents of intervention in the child's home environment. However, this approach requires intense one-on-one supervision by highly trained professionals. Consequently, there is a significant gap between the intensive service requirements for children with ASD and the available resources to provide these services. In the current pilot study, the use of remote technology, telepractice, is evaluated as a tool for coaching parents of two children found to have ASD. Two clinical models of intervention are compared: a traditional model of twice-weekly speech and language therapy sessions (traditional clinical model) and a model where a once-a-week clinical session is followed by a home-based session administered by the parents and remotely supervised and coached by the clinician (clinic/telepractice model). Results suggest that gains obtained in traditional therapy can be maintained and even exceeded in a treatment model that uses telepractice. Parents reported that they perceived telepractice sessions to be as valuable as those delivered directly by the clinician, felt comfortable using the technology, and were willing to continue intervention with their children at home. These preliminary results suggest that use of telepractice holds promise for reducing the demands on available resources of service for this population. A study with a larger population is currently underway including cost-benefit analyses to examine the implications for such a treatment model to its users and to the healthcare system.”

(“Using Telepractice in Parent Training in Early Autism”

By Baharav, Eva and Reiser, Carly appeared in Telemedicine journal and e-health : the official journal of the American Telemedicine Association July 2010)

 

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