Well, it has been an interesting week. I can’t believe how much new information I have read, processed and developed.
Within my private practice, I am in the process of developing our service delivery options for families. This includes telehealth. Interestingly I have telehealth on my business plan for the last couple of years, however, it has taken a pandemic to bring it o full fruition. Small plans to full-blown in a week.
I wanted to share with all of you my learnings so far. I must shout out to the amazing telehealth community of speech pathologists around the world who I have admired and been inspired by for years. They are all offering up their wisdom in the most generous way.
Definitely follow these Facebook groups. 
SLP Telepractice Collaboration
Telepractice for SLPs
Also, amazing Speech Pathologist working in Telehealth
Stacy Crouse No Print Speech Therapy and AVT
The Whimsical Word, Inc. Speech & Language Therapy
Simply Speaking SLT – Brooke
Jill Shook SLP
Stacy has amazing videos up at the moment about how to use a range of pdf resources and boom cards in therapy.
Andee (whimsical word) has a Facebook live up currently about her favourite resources for working in Telehealth.
Brooke has a teletherapy demon video uploaded to youtube
Jill Shook has a brief introduction to teletherapy.
Speech Pathology Australia Resources
Speech Pathology Australia has a free webinar for members. Click through to the cahoot learning program here
Information on telepractice
Position paper on telepractice
Set up considerations
- Identify a suitable room that is quiet, private and free of distractors
- Look what is visible behind you – remove all clutter and unnecessary objects
- Lighting – make sure your light source is in front of your face
- Think about eye contact – if you are using an external camera it should be mounted so that both participants are looking directly at each other during the video call.
- Make sure that you have everything you need in front of you. It can be distracting for clients when a therapist is looking at another screen or taking notes Just be mindful and explain when you do need to look away.
- Check your device – most will have a camera and microphone built-in. I love using this headset by Logitech. There are better ones on the market however these are great for a quick setup. They retail for approximately $50.
- Determine if the internet at both the client and clinician site supports a clear connection. This can be assessed from websites such as https://www.speedtest.net/. The upload/download speeds required will depend on the platform and materials being used. However, a general minimum standard is 3 Mbps for static materials and 5 Mbps for video
Platforms
There are a number of telehealth platforms out there that have been purpose-built for telehealth.
Covui is a telehealth platform.
Coviu was first created within the Australian research organisation CSIRO as part of research into telehealth delivery platforms.
ZOOM – many people are going for this option. https://zoom.us/
You set up meetings in your account. Share the meeting with your client and met up at the appointment time.
Here is a great youtube video by Sarah Wu on how to use Zoom
What is HIPAA
HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996) is United States legislation that provides data privacy and security provisions for safeguarding medical information.
Look for platforms which have inbuilt security.
Let’s talk about Boom cards – https://wow.boomlearning.com/
Boom Cards are digital task cards. You can use them on your computer, tablet, or interactive whiteboard. Boom is a platform that allows teachers to purchase and/or create digital activities for students. Boom “decks” are made up of individual, digital task cards for students to complete. One of the great things about Boom is that you and the students can use it on computers OR tablets!
Get your clients ready for Telehealth
Clients will undoubtedly have questions about telehealth. They will be nervous about how to connect and how therapy will look. Think about all the commonly asked questions and set up an information page answering everything.
Feeling like you might be ready to give it a go?
Here are some great free resources to get you started
Free resources to send home for home practice
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