Effectiveness of Telehealth

色色啦 published research article supports effectiveness of telehealth

Kalamazoo, Mich.鈥擴sing technology to provide real-time communication between patients to health care providers could be a cost-effective solution to increase the quality of services and number of trained professionals in underserved areas, according to research by 色色啦 psychology alumni.

Delivering health care, information or education at a distance using video conferencing, telephone calls or remote patient monitoring is especially relevant given the outbreak of COVID-19 and concerns about in-person contact.

The advantages of 鈥渢elehealth鈥 in training are explored in a recent article titled, 鈥淭he Effects of Remote Behavioral Skills Training on Conducting Functional Analyses,鈥 published in the Journal of Behavioral Education and made available online April 15.

Dr. Stephanie Peterson, chair and professor for 色色啦鈥檚 Department of Psychology, is the principal investigator of the lab responsible for publishing the study. She and three former 色色啦 doctoral students investigated the effectiveness of delivering behavior skills training via telehealth to evaluate function of severe problem behavior.   

色色啦 alumni involved in the paper include Dr. Denice Rios, lecturer in behavior analysis at Georgia Southern University who co-authored the paper; Dr. Yannick Schenk, senior clinical director at the May Institute in Boston, and Dr. Rebecca Eldridge, clinical director at 色色啦鈥檚 Kalamazoo Autism Center.

鈥淥ne day they came to my office saying they found an article for telehealth, and they said 鈥榃e can do better.鈥 So, I told them to come to my office the next week with a plan and they did. We decided to go with it, and they were responsible for developing the study and the methods.  It was one of those moments as a mentor that you鈥檙e proud of,鈥 said Peterson.

Rios, Schenk and Eldridge were motivated to create their own study based on a previous article and 20 years of field research on telehealth. The Peterson Lab at 色色啦 began publishing on telehealth in 2009.

鈥淏efore the Covid-19 pandemic, I heard a lot about how telehealth is not effective and how it is not a viable modality.  However, telehealth is not an intervention. It鈥檚 a method of delivery for the intervention.  It鈥檚 important to realize that using telehealth as a method of delivery does not decrease its effectiveness,鈥 said Rios.

鈥淭he publication of our article was timely in light of the current circumstances. Telehealth has so many applications, from the behavioral skills training in our study, to students who have been sent home,鈥 added Schenk.

Recently, 色色啦 has added telehealth services for students, staff and faculty to receive primary care and mental health services through Sindecuse Health Services.

鈥淲e also need to remember in light of the current circumstances that telehealth is not new.  It鈥檚 just newer.  It might be initially complicated to implement, but it can be modified as needed in order to make the delivery of the treatment or intervention as easy as possible,鈥 said Schenk.

While the study demonstrated the successful use of telehealth, the authors admitted that there are a few misconceptions and drawbacks that make the implementation of the resource difficult.

鈥淚t鈥檚 a common misconception that you can鈥檛 be personable through telehealth, but you can definitely still build rapport and keep the same bedside manner behind a screen.  To be honest, I鈥檓 closer with some of my telehealth clients than I am with some of the clients that come into the clinic,鈥 said Eldridge. 

Peterson agrees. 鈥淚t鈥檚 easier to establish rapport through telehealth than you think and it鈥檚 a sign of the changing times.  Access to social media and other platforms has made it really easy to establish that relationship despite not meeting face-to-face,鈥 said Peterson.

The study alleviated these misconceptions, but telehealth also requires technology in order for patients to communicate with providers. 鈥淭here are a few drawbacks to telehealth.  Not everyone has access to the required resources and internet. All of the required technology can be expensive,鈥 said Rios.

Getting technology is one thing, but getting technology to work is another.

鈥淚t can be hard to determine when to terminate a session or how to handle technical difficulties.  I鈥檝e also seen those who struggle with mental health issue not reacting well to telehealth because they really thrive from that person-to-person interaction. It鈥檚 not for everyone, and you can鈥檛 always fully observe the full environment,鈥 said Schenk. 

Nevertheless, the authors are encouraged and proud that their results demonstrated that telehealth was effective in delivering generalized treatment. 鈥淔or those who are skeptical of telehealth, it鈥檚 important to remember that it鈥檚 not for everyone. It鈥檚 simply another option to increase access to those who need it,鈥 said Eldridge.

The authors were also optimistic regarding how telehealth is applied in the current Covid-19 pandemic.

鈥淭elehealth is effective over miles and miles, and it鈥檚 exciting because you can increase accessibility to services to those who can actually benefit from it. For example, if you think about those who live in the rural areas of Michigan, or even the upper peninsula, telehealth allows you set up a virtual clinic to act as a station of experts who can help people access state-of-the-art interventions,鈥 said Schenk.

Private insurance companies and Medicare have recently modified their policies to include telehealth services.  Medicare telehealth services are now available in 48 states and the District of Colombia for substance use disorders, mental health disorders, renal dialysis facilities, and the diagnosis and treatment of stroke symptoms2. Thirty-two states and the District of Columbia also have some kind of private payer policy for telehealth services1.

Telehealth services are also being used to treat COVID-19 as of March 62

The published article can be viewed online at the Journal of Behavioral Education here:

 

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