Perspectives of Occupational Therapy Practitioners on Benefits and Barriers on Providing Occupational Therapy Services via Telehealth

Telehealth Adoption Among Rehabilitation Specialists

“…21 The concept of telehealth will be better understood by future practitioners when it is intentionally taught in health science curriculums and therefore serves targeted populations better when academia plays a lead role in this instruction. 22 When clinical scholars are afforded the opportunity to gain experience on how to use virtual service delivery models, they are more likely to leverage telehealth for clinical intervention, advocacy, and addressing health care access disparities. 20 Another internal factor asserts that generation Y and Z, which are classified as postmillennials, grasp the efficacy of telehealth or virtual care and are less reluctant to use it with their remote patients than previous generations.…”

Telerehabilitation use and experiences in occupational and physical therapy through the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic

“…Synchronous telerehabilitation programs have been utilized by individuals with musculoskeletal conditions to improve physical function and reduce pain [5,8], and by adults with traumatic brain injuries to improve mood, communication, and sleep quality [9]. Shigekawa et al [3] and Corey [10] found that clinicians generally expressed positive views of the potential of telerehabilitation to provide more cost-effective, timely, and accessible care to a broad patient population. In a survey (n = 310) of Floridabased physical therapists (PTs), respondents largely agreed that telehealth could substantially reduce healthcare costs for patients (81%) and make delivering quality care more efficient (89%) [1].…”

“…However, barriers to telehealth implementation including user apprehension, inexperience with technology, technical difficulties, confidentiality concerns, and regulatory limitations [10,11] have resulted in low utilization of telerehabilitation in practice [1,11,12]. A survey of California-based occupational therapists (OTs) found that participants with telehealth experience identified client and practitioner apprehension and technology difficulties and challenges as the greatest barriers to telehealth implementation [10].…”

“…However, barriers to telehealth implementation including user apprehension, inexperience with technology, technical difficulties, confidentiality concerns, and regulatory limitations [10,11] have resulted in low utilization of telerehabilitation in practice [1,11,12]. A survey of California-based occupational therapists (OTs) found that participants with telehealth experience identified client and practitioner apprehension and technology difficulties and challenges as the greatest barriers to telehealth implementation [10]. Surveys of other OT and PT populations reinforce these concerns: 46% of Houston-based OTs (n = 51) felt unequipped to conduct a productive consultation over telehealth [11], while 90% of Florida-based PTs (n = 310) reported having little or very little experience with telehealth technology [1].…”

“…Technical difficulties have also posed challenges, with one survey finding technical difficulties affecting up to 47% of respondents [1]. In their survey of Florida-based OTs, Corey [10] reported that OTs reserved telehealth consultations for making-up sessions, avoiding illness, or reducing travel time, rather than making telehealth regularly available.…”