Telepractice is perhaps the most widespread service innovation to have received such rapid uptake across health systems globally. Disciplines that started to adopt telehealth prior to the pandemic found themselves at the forefront of a seismic shift to delivering healthcare online. The authors of this review paper, all of whom are experienced telehealth practitioners, address the important question of what comes next now that traditional modes of service delivery may be resumed. This paper includes a useful overview of studies that support dysphagia telepractice. The authors summarise four key considerations: 1) dysphagia services must meet the needs of the consumer and the service itself; 2) the aspects of dysphagia care that can be delivered safely and effectively via telepractice need to be established; 3) telepractice should be delivered flexibly to support dysphagia care; 4) the provision of quality dysphagia services via telepractice requires planned implementation and evaluation. Further, they offer guidance on how to develop and implement telepractice using the steps of task analysis, design, implementation and evaluation. Finally, they highlight that, given that future dysphagia practice is likely to involve more telehealth appointments, it is essential that new research examines the feasibility, validity and evaluations of large-scale implementation of integrating telepractice into usual dysphagia care within current modern health systems.
Going online with dysphagia practice: potential for innovation post pandemic
Reviewed by Roganie Govender
Telepractice and Dysphagia Management: The Era of COVID‑19 and Beyond.
CONTRIBUTOR
Roganie Govender
University College London, Head & Neck Academic Centre, UK.
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