Telehealth is a fresh start for person-centered care. It is a way to reach clients who are unable to come to office appointments, who would prefer to receive results and treatment at home, or whose communication partners cannot attend appointments with them during working hours (for example: elderly clients with adult children). To address the needs of a new, tech-hungry generation, the person-centered approach is to use telehealth.
We can use telehealth in different ways throughout the hearing loss journey: Providing information for those who are beginning to wonder if they might have a hearing loss; resources and support for people with hearing loss and their communication partners; and a way for clinicians to communicate with clients, even if one of them can’t make it to the office. It's already possible to remotely conduct hearing screenings and adjust hearing aids, while still maintaining contact with the client through a video call. This will increase the reach of hearing screening, the number of people who take action on their hearing loss, and clients who can take advice from professionals with a more holistic scope of practice.
Ultimately, the goal of telehealth is to free up the time the audiologist is spending on the technical and administrative aspects of the appointment so that you can focus on what matters most: The therapeutic relationship with the client.
