Telehealth Technology Applications in Speech-Language Pathology

Introduction: Speech-language pathologists are anxious to adopt telehealth technologies but have encountered barriers such as limited reimbursement, state licensure laws, and medical information privacy laws. Moreover, speech-language pathologists are confronted with the hurdle of evolving face-to-face clinical practices into effective telehealth practice adapted to the current national infrastructure. Factors such as costs, availability of resources, and diagnostic/intervention and patient needs should be considered when selecting the telehealth infrastructure for service delivery. Understanding the new role of technology in the diagnosis and treatment of communication disorders is vital for the expansion of telehealth as a standard of care. The purpose of this article is to overview the current technologic infrastructure and procedures for telehealth applications in speech-language pathology (SLP) and the innate challenges and opportunities. Materials and Methods: A literature search was conducted for telehealth publications in the field of SLP. Given the rapid rate at which technology advances, only peer-reviewed articles published over the past 5 years (2008-2013) were included. Results: The majority of articles reviewed used hybrid methodologies to maintain traditional SLP service standards. General technological components for telehealth activities included computers, Web cameras, headsets with an embedded microphone, and Internet connectivity. Conclusions: Advanced technology has limitations in the application of telehealth. Technological adversities were not reported as the cause of discontinuation of telehealth services by the practitioner or the individual. Audio and visual disturbances were primarily associated with videoconferencing. Supplemental asynchronous technology was widely reported as a solution to real-time instabilities.