Telerehabilitation consultations for clients with neurologic diagnoses: Cases from rural Minnesota and American Samoa

Telerehabilitation is the provision of rehabilitation services at a distance using electronic information and communication technologies. This paper describes two clinical programs that utilize videoconferencing to provide rehabilitation specialist consultations to individuals living in remote areas. Needs assessments for the two areas revealed that local clinicians were interested in access to specialty consultation. Administrative processes and a data collection tool were developed for these programs. High speed videoconferencing that allows for real-time audio and video interaction was used. Each consultation includes the patient, the local caregivers and specialists from our facilities interacting via videoconferencing. A total of 117 telerehabilitation encounters have been completed. All consultations resulted in changes to the plan of care. Clinicians who participated in the projects consistently rated the clinical effectiveness of teleconsults as good or excellent. Thirty-eight consultations have been neurologic in nature. Of that set, 25 of the visits were initial assessments, and thirteen were follow-up visits. Two case studies of individuals with neurologic diagnoses are presented. Recommendations to others who are providing rehabilitation services via telehealth technologies are included. The authors conclude that the care of individuals with neurologic issues can be augmented and supported via specialty consultation using telehealth technology.