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Integrating telehealth services into a remote allied health service: A pilot study
Author(s) -
O'Hara Rebecca,
Jackson Sarah
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
australian journal of rural health
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.48
H-Index - 49
eISSN - 1440-1584
pISSN - 1038-5282
DOI - 10.1111/ajr.12189
Subject(s) - telehealth , service (business) , rehabilitation , nursing , health care , medicine , telemedicine , service delivery framework , medical education , business , physical therapy , marketing , economic growth , economics
Problem The continuity of care for people with neurological conditions in a remote northwest Q ueensland town as services are currently only available intermittently. Design Mixed methods design using questionnaires and staff review of the program and processes. Setting Intermittent community rehabilitation service for clients with neurological conditions has been offered in M ount I sa and is supported by a similar fulltime service in T ownsville. Both services use a unique client‐centred, student‐assisted, interprofessional model of care. Key measures for improvement Understanding participant experiences by obtaining feedback from clients, students and allied health professionals ( AHPs ) regarding their experiences of using telehealth in this setting. Strategy for change Previous clients of the N orth W est C ommunity R ehabilitation service were offered a review assessment using telehealth by an interprofessional team.Effects of change U sing telehealth enabled the client, remote AHP and students in M ount Isa to be connected to expert assistance in T ownsville. Lessons learnt The findings suggest that telehealth was useful in a community rehabilitation setting to provide review services for clients. This improved continuity of care for these clients because without this telehealth assessment, the clients would have had to wait up to 12 months for the next service period in M ount I sa or travel to a major urban centre to access a similar service. Feedback from clients, students and AHPs was positive; however, some challenges were identified. Recommendations for future service delivery using telehealth are outlined in the paper.