The Korea IT Times reported on August 11, 2009 that the Korean government has announced amendments that would allow more people to utilize telemedicine for medical treatments. The Ministry of Health, Welfare and Family Affairs is targeting its telemedicine program at the 4.7 million people who live in places where medical services are not usually
A 2008 article in The ASHA Leader chronicles the increased popularity of audiology telepractice over the past few years. Here are some highlights from the article: In Canada, audiologists are using telepractice to give hearing screening tests to newborns who don’t pass their first test. The telepractice program is expected to expand to 15 remote
A 2009 Gartner Report indicates that telemedicine has been a tremendous success in the province of Ontario, Canada. From 2008 to 2009, more than 2,008 clinicians conducted 70,600 telemedicine sessions using the Ontario Telemedicine Network. The Ontario Telemedicine Network estimates that these videoconferencing sessions have saved patients millions of kilometers of travel. Moreover, they have
Here is a link to an official ASHA video on the benefits of telespeech services to patients with speech difficulties. The video claims that SLPs can offer quality treatment to anyone in almost any location through telepractice. Amy Georgeadis, a researcher at the National Rehabilitation Hospital, says that patients’ responses have been very positive and
In 2005, the Tripler Army Medical Center in Honolulu, HI experimented with a telepractice program that delivered speech therapy to patients stationed in remote areas of Japan. An article in The ASHA Leader noted that prior to the telepractice program, patients had to be air evacuated from Japan to Hawaii to attend speech therapy sessions.
The results of a three-year-long study that examined over 2200 telerehabilitation sessions suggest that telerehabilitation programs are not just effective but sustainable as well. The INTEGRIS TeleRehab model for health care delivery was put into place in rural areas of Oklahoma, where over 1,144,000 individuals are underserved and 678,000 people do not receive health care
Audiologists have thus far been slow to adopt telepractice technology, mainly due to concerns about connectivity and cost. As telepractice technology becomes more sophisticated however, more audiologists are using videoconferencing to interact with patients. The potential benefits of audiology telepractice are immense. Regional audiology clinics can offer hearing tests to those who live in rural communities,
Telepractice can specifically aid school districts that have limited access to SLPs. A new study conducted by researchers at Kent State University indicates that telepractice methods for providing speech-language therapy are just as effective as traditional on-site therapy for students. Thirty-eight children from four rural school districts in Ohio participated in a pilot program in
One of the criticisms of telemedicine is that there are current limitations to videoconferencing equipment. Every type of technology has its limitations to be sure, but fortunately researchers are making great strides to improve telemedicine technology. Researchers at the National Rehabilitation Hospital are assembling prototype videoconferencing systems that have enhanced and extended capabilities to allow
A CBS News video clip highlighted the shift that many schools are making from traditional health care services to telemedicine. In Rochester, NY, eleven daycare centers and seven schools are now using telemedicine to connect to ten doctors’ offices in the city. Through online platforms, nurses can diagnose minor illnesses and infections in children—the Rochester