Telerehabilitation Policy Report: Interprofessional Policy Principles and Priorities

Authors

  • Evelyn Abrahante Terrell Nicklaus Children's Hospital
  • Andrew Bopp American Occupational Therapy Association, North Bethesda, MD, USA
  • Kristen Neville American Occupational Therapy Association, North Bethesda, MD, USA
  • David Scala American Physical Therapy Association, Alexandria, VA, USA
  • Kyle Zebley American Telemedicine Association, Arlington, VA, USA

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.5195/ijt.2021.6433

Keywords:

Policy, Rehabilitation services, Telehealth, Telepractice, Telerehabilitation

Abstract

The American Occupational Therapy Association, the American Physical Therapy Association, the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association and the American Telemedicine Association are collaborating to advance telehealth and ensure sustainability of virtual care services beyond the COVID-19 pandemic. These professional associations represent the interests of more than 888,000 rehabilitation services professionals. This paper summarizes the current state of telehealth policy principles and priorities for rehabilitation services. The report outlines key considerations when advocating with policymakers to avoid the “Telehealth Cliff” for audiology and therapy services and to facilitate the continued advancement of telehealth innovation and transformation by rehabilitation services professionals.

  

Author Biographies

Evelyn Abrahante Terrell, Nicklaus Children's Hospital

NICKLAUS CHILDREN’S PEDIATRIC VIRTUAL CARE, TELEHEALTH CENTER, NICKLAUS CHILDREN’S HOSPITAL, MIAMI, FL, USA

Andrew Bopp, American Occupational Therapy Association, North Bethesda, MD, USA

AMERICAN OCCUPATIONAL THERAPY ASSOCIATION, NORTH BETHESDA, MD, USA

Kristen Neville, American Occupational Therapy Association, North Bethesda, MD, USA

AMERICAN OCCUPATIONAL THERAPY ASSOCIATION, NORTH BETHESDA, MD, USA

David Scala, American Physical Therapy Association, Alexandria, VA, USA

AMERICAN PHYSICAL THERAPY ASSOCIATION, ALEXANDRIA, VA, USA

Kyle Zebley, American Telemedicine Association, Arlington, VA, USA

AMERICAN TELEMEDICINE ASSOCIATION, ARLINGTON, VA, USA

References

American Occupational Therapy Association. [AOTA]. (2021). Occupational therapy via telehealth for Medicare beneficiaries support the Expanded Telehealth Access Act (H.R.2168/S.TBD). CQ Engage. https://cqrcengage.com/aota/file/Z6wpbsnLGaG/Expanded-Telehealth-Access-Act-One-Pager.pdf

American Physical Therapy Association. [APTA]. (2021). Expanded Telehealth Access Act of 2021 (H.R. 2168). https://www.apta.org/contentassets/dfc514093b974104aea02e0cf0016562/position-paper-telehealth.pdf

American Speech-Language-Hearing Association. [ASHA]. (2021). Enhance older adult access to telehealth services. https://takeaction.asha.org/asha/Telehealth

American Telemedicine Association. [ATA]. (2021a). ATA 2021 Legislative priorities. American Telemedicine Association. https://www.americantelemed.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/ATA-2021-Federal-Tracker-1.31.pdf

American Telemedicine Association. [ATA]. (2021b). ATA's federal telehealth legislative tracker. https://www.americantelemed.org/policies/atas-federal-telehealth-legislative-tracker/

Bican, R., Christensen, C., Fallieras, K., Sagester, G., O'Rourke, S., Byars, M., & Tanner, K. (2021). Rapid implementation of telerehabilitation for pediatric patients during COVID-19. International Journal of Telerehabilitation, 13(1), 1-13. https://doi.org/10.5195/ijt.2021.6371

Krasovsky, T., Silberg, T., Barak, S., Eisenstein, E., Erez, N., Feldman, I., Guttman, D., Liber, P., Patael, S. Z., & Sarna, H. (2021). Transition to multidisciplinary pediatric telerehabilitation during the COVID-19pPandemic: Strategy development and implementation. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 18(4), 1484. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18041484

Little, L. M., Pickett, K. A., Proffitt, R., & Cason, J. (2021). Keeping PACE With 21st Century Healthcare: A Framework for Telehealth Research, Practice, and Program Evaluation. International Journal of Telerehabilitation, 13(1), e6379. https://doi.org/10.5195/ijt.2021.6379

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Published

2021-12-01

How to Cite

Terrell, E. A. ., Bopp, A., Neville, K., Scala, D., & Zebley, K. (2021). Telerehabilitation Policy Report: Interprofessional Policy Principles and Priorities. International Journal of Telerehabilitation, 13(2). https://doi.org/10.5195/ijt.2021.6433

Issue

Vol. 13 No. 2 (2021)

Section

Policy

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