Every May, The American Speech-Language-Hearing Association makes BSHM resources available on their website, effectively raising awareness about communication disorders and growing need for more speech language pathology and audiology services in the United States; one of the ways this is being accomplished is via telepratice—a topic that ASHA reports on with positivity and optimism in this informative video:
Increasing the availability of SLP services is something that technology achieves everyday via telepractice; this enables the therapist to dial into a patient’s home and meet them wherever they are! It’s a service delivery method that works for any age group. Young patients are motivated by technology-driven therapy sessions, and older patients respond well to therapy via computers, as so many are used to communicating with their children and grandchildren this way.
Other terms for “telepractice” may include “teleaudiology”, “telespeech”, and “speech teletherapy”. Speech language pathologists should note the differences between these two types of telepratice:
Many SLPs who practice teletherapy report research outcomes that are equal to face-to-face delivery models, and say that patient satisfaction is high, adding that the method opens new doors in therapy as it promotes more family involvement and easy access to care. More insurance companies, including Medicare agree with the cost-effectiveness and uncompromised quality of telepractice, and provide coverage for these sessions; the only challenge left for SLPs is when patient relationships cross state lines because this means the therapist must seek SLP licensure in multiple states: the state wherein therapy is being provided, and the state where the patient is receiving it. The ASHAsphere blog has written extensively on a need for SLP license portability, as more schools, nursing homes and hospitals experience shortages in audiology and speech pathology services.