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From: Chris Lewis
Date: 12 Oct 2006
Time: 01:12:55 -0500
Remote Name: 211.29.213.9
Hi Brandi, Many thanks for your comments and questions. As I have mentioned in a couple of previous replies, I am unable to provide information regarding costs and insurance. I am aware that this is an issue that has been raised in the general telehealth literature. The telehealth treatment in the current study was provided free of charge to the families and the study was funded by a grant. In Australia, SLP services are available free of charge through the government funded public health system. I am uncertain if families here with private health insurance can claim for telehealth services provided by private clinicians. Your 2nd question re. home visits is a particularly important one, and is something that we aim to investigate in future studies. During the study there was no face-to-face contacts between the families and the SLP. It was, of course, important to keep everything standard. However, in clinical practice it may be quite possible and beneficial for there to be a combination of face-to-face contact, either to the home or the speech clinic, with telehealth delivery. For example, it may be possible and beneficial to see the child and family for an initial assessment and to commence treatment, as this would enable treatment to be demonstrated individually and for the parent's first attempts to be observed and adjusted by the SLP. Thanks again for your interest & good luck with your studies! Chris.