Hi all, I'm an OT in a memory clinic in Wales UK. Due to the current covid-19 restrictions placed on our service we're exploring options around telehealth and how this can be used to try and provide some level of service to our patient group. As a memory clinic we target assessment and diagnosis of dementia. Has anyone got any experience of working in this way, and what are the pros cons and pitfalls? Also any suggestions of assessments, screening tools etc used in this way would be welcomed.
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Telehealth allows you to get the right health care at the right time, right where you are. Telehealth makes it easier for you to manage chronic diseases like diabetes by providing access to specialists and making it easier for you to stay on top of your treatment plan and send test results to your doctor. I have used a template from https://masterbundles.com/templates/presentations/powerpoint/medical/ source for making a presentation on the effectiveness of Telehealth in our country.
@Judith - we've encouraged social media followers to post here but, in the meantime, see below a few comments collected so far:
Emma (Facebook) 'There was an interesting webinar on the practicalities, advantages and challenges of using video calls (Near Ne /Anytime Anywhere) with patients, by OTs at NHS Education for Scotland. You could try contacting Ailidh.hunter@nhslothian.scot.nhs.uk, to get a summary of this, as it was really good!'
Georgina (LinkedIn) 'I’ve used telehealth before [pulmonary rehabilitation], but we had to stop, as the results weren’t reliable. Also patients fixated on readings and interpretation from medical staff... Patients lost faith in their ability to self-manage their long-term condition and became reliant on their GP to interpret the data...
... I do think [forms of telehealth] have a part to play and I would be interested in utilising them with some of my service users now. I have a lady in the community who has a respiratory condition and social anxiety. All her GP consultations have been conducted over the telephone. She has no idea what her baseline vital signs are. However, the district nurses no longer use it. At work in social care, we are being encouraged to utilise assistive technology and I believe telehealth should be a part of that. A great way to work together with our health colleagues.'
Tim (LinkedIn) 'We do have OTs who use the Blink Session platform, although they are in the minority for sure. We have tried to encourage the OT community to invest further in this process but it is a "slow go." The technology is there - however it does require another skill to take therapy online. Feel free to reach out to us if there is any way we can help.'
That would be great thank you! I’ve contacted RCOT for some direction too and am happy to share any response. Im sure there are plenty of us having to adapt our ways of working and looking for similar guidance right now.
Great question @Judith! Happy for us to raise this forum to the attention of fellow Members via our social networks (may provide a speedier response here)?