Telehealth has been on the rise for quite some time. But with the current pandemic, the need for remote care has dramatically increased. Until now, the main drivers of telehealth were factors like accessibility, convenience, and efficiency. The pandemic has added an important safety incentive for professionals to apply telehealth and find new ways of providing clients with online support when in-person appointments are not an option.
Real-time support
To help professionals and people with hearing loss navigate the telehealth journey – before, during, and after the appointment – Ida has now extended our telecare portfolio, transforming some of our most popular counseling tools into editable PDFs that can be shared on-screen during the appointment. This enables the audiologist to structure the online conversations with their clients and provide a person-centered experience even from afar. The new editable PDFs are an addition to the existing Ida Telecare tool portfolio, which already provides resources for pre-appointment preparation and follow-up.
Ida’s Managing Director Lise Lotte Bundesen says, “With this feature, Ida Telecare allows professionals to provide their clients with a holistic and person-centered experience throughout the telehealth journey and ensure that the clients feel heard, understood, and involved at all stages.”
Tips for using the tools
The new editable PDFs include classic Ida tools such as the Line, the Box, My Hearing Explained, and the Tinnitus Thermometer. Each can be used as a stand-alone counseling tool during the online appointment or paired with different telecare tools to create a complete appointment flow.
For instance, Why Improve My Hearing is useful before the first appointment with a client. As a next step, the editable PDF version of the Line or the Box can be used to further explore their motivation for seeking help and consider the advantages and disadvantages of taking action.
My Hearing Explained is a conversation guide that can be used to explain hearing test results in person-centered language. It can also be used in conjunction with the online version of Living Well to further focus the conversation about a client’s priorities, challenges, and strategies.
The Tinnitus Thermometer is an effective way to start a conversation about tinnitus with a client. Asking clients to reflect on the differences in how they are affected by tinnitus from day to day can be a useful first step towards rehabilitation. Because tinnitus can vary so much from one day to the next, using the Tinnitus Thermometer is a way to continue the discussion and the reflective process that will help your clients cope effectively with their tinnitus.
Goal Sharing for Partners can be used across the different appointment phases to involve communication partners in telehealth appointments.
Bundesen says, “Ida Telecare enables hearing care professionals to bridge the gap between person-centered care and telehealth – making it all about the person, not the technology.”
For more information and to download the tools, visit the tool pages. You can also complete our training course Tele-Audiology: Person-Centered Care From Afar for a comprehensive guide on what telehealth is and why it is important to incorporate it into your daily audiological