What Is Teletherapy?
Teletherapy is any remote exchange of voice, video, or data information by electronic means between a patient and their therapist.
Teletherapy is now a vital piece of healthcare and is not going anywhere anytime soon. Patients enjoy connecting with their speech, occupational, or physical therapists from the ease and comfort of their own home. But, like anything, this new technology comes with its own pros and cons for patients and therapists.
Teletherapy is now a vital piece of healthcare and is not going anywhere anytime soon. Patients enjoy connecting with their speech, occupational, or physical therapists from the ease and comfort of their own home. But, like anything, this new technology comes with its own pros and cons for patients and therapists.
Let’s start by going over some of the pros:
Patient Pros Of Teletherapy:
- Saves time
- Convenient
- Lowers costs
- Improved access to care
- Eliminates child or eldercare issues
- Minimizes the spread of infectious diseases
Therapist Pros Of Teletherapy:
- Less overhead
- Work from home
- Improved revenue
- Improved efficiency
- Scheduling flexibility
- Minimizes exposure to infectious diseases
While teletherapy has lots of benefits it also comes with some drawbacks for both patients and therapists:
Patient Cons Of Teletherapy:
- Learning Curve
- Technical Difficulties
- Communication Barriers
- Requires Internet Access
- Home Environmental Barriers
- Caregivers Are Unable To Anonymously Observe Therapy Sessions
Therapist Cons Of Teletherapy:
- Examination Limitations
- Hard To Gain Caregiver and Patient Engagement
- Teletherapy Software Lacks Therapy-Specific Tools
- HIPAA Compliant Teletherapy Software Can Be Expensive
- Limited Treatment Options (manual therapy, tactile cueing, etc)
For example, in speech, occupational, and physical therapy one of the major benefits of having in-person sessions is that family, students, or supervisors can observe the session.
During this important time of observation, parents are able to learn therapeutic skills they can implement at home, students can accrue vital observation hours, and managers, auditors, or instructors can supervise the therapist.
Fortunately, Ambiki's Teletherapy solves this and many other issues:
Ambiki’s teletherapy software has a new feature called Observer Mode. This feature allows for an authorized third party (family, student, or supervisor) to join as a silent or ‘ghost’ observer unseen by the patient (unless the observer chooses to interrupt the session and join in).
This new feature, for the first time ever, gives the power of observing back to the therapist allowing for a smooth seamless transition from in-person to virtual teletherapy sessions regarding observation.
While teletherapy will always have some pros and cons compared to in-person sessions, observer mode is just one of the many ways Ambiki is breaking down many of the barriers of teletherapy for both patients and therapists.
Are you an SLP, OT, or PT?
Have you struggled in the past using other teletherapy software that were maybe overpriced, clunky, or difficult to use? Or have you used software that was definitely not adapted for the specific needs of rehab, so you and your patient struggled through the session instead of thrived?
Then consider learning about how Ambiki is innovating and building world-class teletherapy software that is specifically-designed for speech, occupational, and physical therapists today at Ambiki.com
Then consider learning about how Ambiki is innovating and building world-class teletherapy software that is specifically-designed for speech, occupational, and physical therapists today at Ambiki.com
