[Sarah Klein]

If I perform telehealth services in the future, I would choose the videoconferencing model to allow for a synchronous conversation to perform a PT evaluation. It would allow me to see the patient, as well as their home set up, which is a great way to get an idea of their environmental set up, safety, and resources. The population I would like to address would be individuals that have barriers to getting to appointments, whether that be due to transportation, lack of family/friend/caretaker support, decreased mobility, living in a rural area, etc. So many people don’t seek out physical therapy because of those barriers, so providing telehealth services would allow me to treat that population that often doesn’t make it into a PT clinic. My main role in the program would be as a provider, though it would also likely include the role of scheduler and/or presenter. I’d be preparing patients for the telehealth visits, likely scheduling their visits, and also performing the evaluations, follow-ups, and re-evaluations. I’d evaluate the program perhaps by providing a survey for patients to fill out regarding their experience with their telehealth visit, and would also verbally inquire at the end of every visit for patient feedback. In terms of legal considerations, it is important to follow the state’s guidelines for informed consent, as well as following HIPAA and providing thorough documentation of each telehealth encounter. I think OT and ST would be great assets to work with to provide well-rounded care to each patient. Protocols that would be important to develop would be forms for informed consent, intake, and patient preparedness that would be provided to patients before each visit. I would receive informed consent from the patient through a form to be filled out prior to the initial visit and I’d attain verbal consent for telehealth services at the beginning of each visit.

[Author]

Posts