Application of information and communication technology to provide tele rehabilitation services by connecting therapist to therapist or therapist to therapist for assessment, intervention, treatment and counseling.
Most of these rehabilitation services are divided into two parts: clinical assessment (the functional abilities of the patient in the environment) and clinical treatment.
Some of the diagnostic or therapeutic rehabilitation services that have been provided as tele rehabilitation services so far include: visit and examination of the patient's condition by a doctor specializing in physical medicine and rehabilitation, visit of the patient by a neurologist, orthopedist or rheumatologist, Exercise or exercise training sessions by physiotherapy and occupational therapy experts, conducting speech therapy sessions, providing psychological counseling to patients, and conducting nutrition and diet therapy sessions for patients with weight or nutrition problems (as part of the rehabilitation team).
Tele rehabilitation services can be provided in different ways. The simplest method of tele communication is a phone call, newer methods include text question and answer (chat) between the patient and the doctor or the patient and the therapist, or in the next step, audio-visual communication (video conference) between the two. Through the video conference connection, the patient can be evaluated by several specialists at the same time (online medical consultation). Over time, more advanced softwares have been designed to make this communication easier or more efficient and have come to the market. Such as software that measures the condition, direction and speed of the patient's movement through a mobile phone camera and provides it to the doctor/therapist.
The importance of tele rehabilitation
Tele rehabilitation is important for the following reasons:
- Increasing the prevalence of chronic diseases and as a result increasing the need for rehabilitation services
- Increasing life expectancy and increasing the elderly population
Objectives of tele rehabilitation
The overall goal of telerehabilitation is to make access to rehabilitation services possible for more people, reduce rehabilitation costs (financial and time costs) for patients and their companions, and limit the lack of physical access to receive Eliminate many rehabilitation services. Some specific goals of tele rehabilitation include the following:
- Increasing the effectiveness of rehabilitation services that have been done face-to-face
- Replacing face-to-face diagnostic or treatment sessions when it is not possible
- Preventing the regression of the patient's condition after completing the in-person treatment course
- Monitoring the patient's condition and changes in his performance over time
- Examining the condition of the patient's place of residence
- Training the companions and family of the patient with reduced ability
Every day we see an increase in the elderly population and also an increase in chronic diseases of old age, which require rehabilitation and rehabilitation specialists. On the other hand, the age of onset of some very important debilitating diseases such as stroke is decreasing and it affects more and more active people in the society every day. Some other important diseases also generally affect people at a younger age (such as spinal cord lesions, brain injuries, MS disease).
Unfortunately, even in the most advanced societies and in developed countries, most of these people do not receive full rehabilitation services. The reasons for this briefly include the following:
- The number of rehabilitation specialist doctors or specialized rehabilitation clinics is small and their distance from the patient is often long
- It is sometimes very difficult to move patients with mobility problems and transfer them to rehabilitation centers. This is despite the fact that these patients have to visit medical centers regularly (sometimes for several months) to receive these services.
- Many patients live in villages or small towns where access to specialists or specialized rehabilitation treatment centers is not possible.
- The cost of commuting and in-person visits to rehabilitation treatment centers is high in the long term (especially considering the lack of coverage or very incomplete insurance coverage for rehabilitation services).
- The frequent travel of patients to receive rehabilitation services involves not only the patient himself, but also his family members and companions, and takes a lot of time and money from them.
- Rehabilitation treatment is usually multifaceted and requires communication with a wide range of health service providers such as medical specialists (in different specialties) and experts in physiotherapy, occupational therapy, speech therapy, psychology and nutrition. There are very few centers that have all the above specialties and provide the possibility of consultation and exchange of information between them to provide optimal services to the patient.
Tele rehabilitation has solved the above problems to a large extent by removing physical barriers and it allows patients even from the most deprived and tele places to access the rehabilitation facilities of big cities and do this without the need of Do any movement from your home.