This Week in Hearing: Dr. Kensi Saia, AuD, PhD Talks Remote Care

Telehealth is quickly becoming a staple option for many healthcare practices globally. MED-EL’s Sr. Product Manager, Kensi Saia, AuD, PhD, recently joined This Week in Hearing to discuss Remote Care, MED-EL’s telehealth solution, that can increase both clinic efficiency and access to hearing health care. Remote Care, in partnership with the HearCare app, helps providers and recipients save time by being able to virtually complete tasks that used to require an in-person visit.

Dr. Saia explains that Remote Care allows audiologists to have greater scheduling flexibility and strengthens their availability for a variety of patient populations. Remote Care is a helpful option for patients that live geographically far from their clinic, or those who don’t want to wait to schedule an appointment for a minor issue. Being able to conduct simple visits virtually lets clinicians better allocate time for their patients who do need an in-person connect. Similarly, integrating Remote Care into their clinic’s standard protocol creates an alternative touchpoint that broadens their offering for all patients.

But the benefits extend past clinic efficiency. The HearCare app puts more control and peace of mind into recipients’ hands through system checks and mapping data backups. Using the app, a patient, or their caregiver, can perform a system check from anywhere, without needing to make an appointment. Likewise, processor mapping data can be stored in the app. So, in the event a replacement is needed, MED-EL can ship out a new processor directly to the patient, who can then redownload their maps and get back to hearing as quickly as possible. Clinicians can also view information stored in their patient’s HearCare app and evaluate from there if an issue can be solved remotely or requires an in-person trip. They can send questionnaires directly to the patient’s app, and make changes to their maps as well.

Overall, Remote Care and the HearCare app are about increasing convenience, control, and comfort for clinicians and their patients. By allowing for greater flexibility of care, MED-EL is helping address the changing needs of its recipients and enabling clinics to better provide for their overall wellbeing.

To learn more, check out the entire podcast episode here. Interested in instituting Remote Care in your clinical practice? Reach out to your MED-EL representative to get started today!