Delivering healthcare interventions remotely is not a new concept. The authors of this article provide a brief history dating back to the 1930s, when the International Radio Medical Centre was established to transmit medical advice to global seafarers. In the 1970s the Logan International Airport Medical Station of the Massachusetts General Hospital started using advances in television to consult patients, with outcomes indicating 61% of patients found it satisfactory. In the 1980s, the Mayo clinic worked alongside NASA to examine reliability of SLT diagnosis by satellite communication and found 100% reliability on a small sample of eight people. Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, telehealth has become more acceptable to clients and commissioners alike. Interventions are now being delivered remotely, and indications are that this method increases attendance. Yet there remain drawbacks in terms of instrumental assessments, particularly nasoendoscopy examinations. The authors go on to provide tips on how to deliver voice therapy in practice, recommending the use of apps to complement acoustic assessment and discuss how to support patients in accessing these remote technologies. Telepractice is part of our present and will remain part of our future. Despite some drawbacks, there are benefits in delivering interventions remotely, not least that it facilitates attendance and reduces missed appointments.
The telemedicine genie is out of the bottle
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