Audiology Telepractice in a Clinical Environment: A Communication Perspective

Access to adequate hearing health care is an obstacle that many individuals face worldwide. The prospect of providing audiology services via the Internet is an attractive and viable alternative to traditional face-to-face interaction between patients and audiologists, thus affording improved access...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Annals of otology, rhinology & laryngology rhinology & laryngology, 2011-07, Vol.120 (7), p.441-447
Main Authors: Crowell, Ellen S., Givens, Gregg D., Jones, Gloria L., Brechtelsbauer, P. Bradley, Yao, Jianchu
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Ambulatory Care
Audiology - organization & administration
Audiometry - instrumentation
Audiometry - methods
Biological and medical sciences
Humans
Internet
Medical sciences
North Carolina
Otorhinolaryngology. Stomatology
Program Development
Remote Consultation - organization & administration
Schools, Medical
Videoconferencing
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Summary:Access to adequate hearing health care is an obstacle that many individuals face worldwide. The prospect of providing audiology services via the Internet is an attractive and viable alternative to traditional face-to-face interaction between patients and audiologists, thus affording improved access to hearing health care for traditionally underserved populations. This article details our experience of using a web-based system with wireless audiometers and videoconferencing software to administer remote audiological assessments in an active medical practice. It discusses the technological infrastructure used and the pragmatic issues that arise when the Internet, Bluetooth wireless audiometers, and videoconferencing devices are converged into a clinical setting. Patients at a local office of otolaryngologists were recruited to participate in a study in which remote assessment results were compared to those collected from a traditional face-to-face assessment. Preliminary data demonstrated that the assessment results from the two sources were comparable. We conclude that remote hearing assessment over the Internet can be achieved through a distributed system synthesized with Internet, wireless communication, and videoconferencing technologies, supported by appropriate staff.
ISSN:0003-4894
1943-572X
DOI:10.1177/000348941112000704