Integrating audiometric testing through telehealth appointments, where a patient visits a satellite office for testing while the provider conducts the session remotely, offers numerous advantages for providers and practice owners. This hybrid model combines the flexibility and convenience of telehealth with the professional oversight and equipment available in a satellite office, ensuring that both audiologists and patients can benefit from a streamlined, efficient, and high-quality care experience. MedRx has created an audiologic solution that makes it easy to perform telehealth without complicated setups. MedRx audiometers that are compatible with MedRx Studio software will have these new capabilities in our latest software release of MedRx Studio 1.3.2. Here are some key benefits for audiologists utilizing telehealth:
1. Wider Patient Reach and Increased Access
By utilizing satellite offices, providers can extend their services to a broader geographical area without the need to establish a full clinic in every location. Satellite offices can be set up in areas where providers would not typically have a presence, such as rural or underserved communities. This allows providers to serve more patients, increasing their practice's reach and ultimately attracting more clients. Patients who might have difficulty traveling long distances to the main office can benefit from this setup, ensuring that hearing healthcare services are accessible to a wider population.
2. Improved Efficiency and Workflow
Integrating telehealth with satellite offices helps audiologists manage their time more effectively. With this model, audiologists can conduct multiple sessions throughout the day without needing to physically be present at each satellite office. Patients visit the satellite location, where trained technicians or staff assist with patient setup and the remote audiologist administers the necessary audiometric tests on MedRx equipment and interprets the results in real-time. This allows the audiologist to see more patients in less time, increasing productivity and optimizing their schedule.
3. Cost-Effective Expansion
For audiologists looking to expand their practice, the satellite office model is a cost-effective way to increase service offerings without the significant overhead costs associated with opening and maintaining a full-fledged clinic. Instead of investing in expensive office space, specialty equipment, and additional staff for each new location, audiologists can partner with existing healthcare facilities or lease smaller spaces for satellite offices. All new MedRx audiometers have the ability to work in a telehealth setting without the need for expensive telehealth supplemental hardware. This makes expansion more financially feasible, enabling audiologists to grow their practice while minimizing initial investment and operational costs.
4. Enhanced Patient Convenience
Patients visiting satellite offices for audiometric testing can benefit from reduced travel time and convenience. For many, the option of visiting a local satellite location instead of traveling to a primary office makes the process less time-consuming and stressful. This is especially helpful for patients with mobility issues, those in rural areas, or elderly individuals who may find it challenging to visit a main office. The convenience of satellite offices ensures that patients are more likely to schedule follow-up visits or routine checkups, leading to better patient retention and satisfaction.
5. Improved Access to Equipment and Technology
Satellite offices can be equipped with high-quality MedRx audiometric testing equipment, allowing the audiologist to remotely conduct accurate diagnostics while still ensuring that patients receive the hands-on assistance they need. Trained staff at the satellite office can help setup patients to be tested with MedRx audiometers, tympanometers, or real ear measurement tools. This hybrid model allows audiologists to maintain the high standards of care they provide in a traditional clinic, even in remote locations. Additionally, advancements in telehealth platforms ensure that test results can be viewed securely and in real time to the audiologist for accurate interpretation and timely recommendations.
6. Seamless Continuity of Care
With satellite offices, audiologists can ensure a seamless continuity of care across different locations. Patients who are unable to visit the main office can still receive regular follow-ups and monitoring, ensuring that their hearing health is consistently addressed. Audiologists can manage ongoing care remotely, adjusting treatment plans, reviewing test results, and addressing concerns without the need for patients to travel long distances.
How to perform telehealth appointments with MedRx Audiometers
A big hurdle for providers is determining how to perform a telehealth appointment. There is a plethora of technology options available to perform telehealth appointments which can be overwhelming. The three main items that need to be determined are:
Conferencing Software
A conferencing software is crucial to any good telehealth appointment. In hearing healthcare, there are some special considerations that need to be considered when choosing your provider: remote control ability, audio and video quality.
Remote control is important because the provider will need to be able to control the computer remotely in order to complete the audiometric testing. Remote control specific software does work well, but is limited in communication abilities. Programs like Zoom and Teams work well for telehealth as they have the option for remote control of a PC, audio and video capabilities. It is recommended to use a program that can complete all communication needs to simplify the setup.
Conferencing Equipment
The equipment used to complete a conference call is also important. Unlike a traditional meeting, a patient may need to move positions throughout the appointment. If you clinic has a booth, then the patient will be at least two places during the testing. It is important that your conference equipment can handle these needs. We have found the best conference speakers for hearing healthcare are speakers that contain remote microphones. These are speakers that have either lapel microphones or wired microphones that can be placed in multiple locations.
This style conference speaker will allow the provider to always hear the patient clearly. A microphone can be placed in the counselling area and an audiometric booth or directly on the patient. An appointment where communication is clear gives an excellent experience for both provider and patient.
MedRx Audiometric Equipment
MedRx equipment is expertly suited for telehealth appointments. The MedRx audiometric equipment is controlled by computers without physical buttons allowing a remote professional to have excellent access to the features remotely.
The difficult part of audiometric testing for telehealth is the ability to hear the patient remotely and talk to the patient when they are under headphones. Many audiometers will require complicated setups and specialty equipment to route the remote providers voice to both the conference speaker and talk forward of the audiometer. MedRx has solved this issue without the need for complicated setups or specialty equipment.
In the latest release of MedRx Studio 1.3.2 we have implemented a new feature found in the talk forward settings.
Here you will see a settings wheel that opens a dialog for routing sound. When you are performing a telehealth appointment, simply select the conferencing speaker you are using. Once selected, the talk forward options will add options for level control of your remote voice.
In the above image, you see that we have added AUX Gain and AUX Level which in combination with Output Level will control the level of the provider remote voice. Once activated, the provider’s remote voice will now be presented to the patient under headphones/inserts of the MedRx audiometer when talk forward is activated. Additionally, the providers’ voice will also be presented out of the conference speaker. This lets the in-office assistant know how the testing is progressing. The provider can also talk to the assistant without the patient hearing by not activating talk forward on the audiometer.
The MedRx telehealth solution offers no additional costs, no wires to change or boxes to plug-in. The MedRx solution is driven solely in software and works seamlessly with audiometers compatible with MedRx Studio software. This is particularly useful for an office that is both in-person and telehealth as no changes to setup are required. Simply change the AUX device under settings to “None” when in-person and choose the conference speaker when performing telehealth.
Conclusion
Integrating audiometric testing through telehealth appointments with satellite offices provides audiologists with numerous benefits, including increased access to underserved areas, improved operational efficiency, cost-effective expansion, and enhanced patient convenience. This hybrid model enables audiologists to deliver high-quality care while optimizing their resources, expanding their reach, and maintaining continuity of care for patients. MedRx equipment provides a great solution that makes it easier to perform telehealth testing in our offices without the need for specialty expensive equipment. Ultimately, telehealth represents a modern approach to audiology that addresses the growing demand for accessible, patient-centered hearing healthcare.