Telehealth services have revolutionized the way healthcare is delivered, providing increased access to care for individuals in remote or underserved areas. This is particularly true for service members and veterans, as demonstrated in the research article "Telehealth Forging Ahead: Overcoming Barriers in Licensure to Improve Access to Care for Service Members" by Stout and Martinez (2011). As practitioners, it is crucial to understand how these advancements can be applied to improve outcomes for children in school settings. By implementing the outcomes of this research, we can enhance our telehealth practices and encourage further research in this field.
The research highlights several key initiatives by the Department of Defense (DoD) and Veterans Health Administration (VHA) to overcome licensure barriers and improve access to care. These initiatives include the establishment of the Tele-TBI Clinic and the implementation of the Servicemembers Telemedicine and E-Health Portability (STEP) Act. These programs have shown significant success in providing specialized care to service members with traumatic brain injury (TBI) and other conditions.
For practitioners working with children, the following strategies derived from the research can be beneficial:
- Interdisciplinary Collaboration: The Tele-TBI Clinic employs an interdisciplinary team approach, including occupational therapy, speech-language pathology, physical therapy, social work, psychology, neuropsychology, neurology, and psychiatry. This model can be adapted to school settings to provide comprehensive care to children with diverse needs.
- Credentialing and Privileging: The DoD and VHA have a robust credentialing process that ensures providers have the proper education and training. Schools can adopt similar processes to ensure that telehealth providers are adequately qualified to deliver services to children.
- Use of Technology: The STEP Act allows licensed healthcare professionals to provide care across state lines using telehealth technology. Schools can leverage this model to bring in specialized care providers from different regions, thus overcoming geographical barriers.
By implementing these strategies, practitioners can enhance the quality of care provided to children through telehealth services. However, it is also essential to conduct further research to explore the efficacy of these models in school settings. This can involve pilot programs, data collection, and analysis to determine the best practices for telehealth delivery in educational environments.
To read the original research paper, please follow this link: Telehealth Forging Ahead: Overcoming Barriers in Licensure to Improve Access to Care for Service Members.
