Telehealth Management of Dysphagia in Adults: A Survey of Speech Language Pathologists' Experiences and Perceptions.
Jordanna S Sevitz, Jennine L Bryan, Samantha S Mitchell and 4 others
PMID 36515730WHAT IT FOUND
Half of surveyed speech therapists used telehealth for adult dysphagia during the pandemic, mostly for therapy rather than assessments.
Confidence and perceived effectiveness doubled over time. Outpatient clinicians reported higher confidence than inpatient ones. Key barriers were lack of infrastructure, reimbursement issues, and limited training.
Key findings
0150.2% of respondents used telehealth to manage dysphagia during the pandemic, with therapy sessions being the most common service provided via telehealth.
02Clinician confidence and perceived effectiveness of telehealth dysphagia services increased substantially, with high-end confidence ratings rising from 17.3% at the start of the pandemic to 66.1% at the time of the survey.
03Working in an outpatient setting was associated with significantly higher clinician confidence and perceived effectiveness compared to working in inpatient settings.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for SLPs
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What it does not show
The sample size was relatively small (n=235) and predominantly female (94.4%) and US-based (61%). Responses are self-reported and subjective, reflecting a specific moment in time during the pandemic. The survey was limited to English-speaking clinicians, potentially excluding perspectives from other regions. Only about 50% of respondents had used telehealth for dysphagia, so findings on usage patterns may not represent the entire profession. Patient perspectives were reported by clinicians, not directly by patients.
Declared interests
The study was funded by Purdue University, College of Health and Human Sciences. No other conflicts of interest were reported.
The easy way to misread this
Do not interpret the increase in clinician confidence as evidence of improved patient outcomes. The study reports perceived effectiveness and confidence, not objective clinical results or patient safety data. Additionally, the low usage of telehealth for instrumental assessments means this study does not support replacing in-person diagnostic procedures with telehealth.