Abstract
Objective
To determine whether there is a difference in patient satisfaction between in-person
and virtual voice therapy.
Methods
Patient satisfaction answers to the National Research Corporation (NRC) Health patient
survey were retrieved for two separate 11 month periods. The first was for an in-person
cohort, from April 2019 to February 2020. The second was for a virtual cohort between
April 2020 and February 2021. Two group t tests or Wilcoxon rank sum tests were used to compare responses between the in-person
and virtual cohorts. The effect of modality of therapy by gender, age, and race was
examined by testing interactions with separate ANOVA models.
Results
Responses were compared between 224 patient satisfaction surveys for the virtual cohort
and 309 patient satisfaction surveys for the in-person cohort. Overall, responses
were highly favorable in all categories. There were no differences between the in-person
and virtual cohorts’ responses with respect to three main categories: likelihood of
future referral of clinic or provider; communication with provider; and comprehension
of the treatment plan. The interaction between modality of therapy delivery and age
was significant for the question, “Did you know what to do after your visit,” with
18-44 year olds in the in-person group reporting a better understanding of the treatment
plan compared to the 18-44 year olds in the virtual therapy cohort (P = 0.004). There were no interactions between modality of therapy and gender, or race.
Conclusion
Virtual delivery of voice therapy was associated with comparable visit satisfaction
scores to in-person delivery, with both delivery modalities demonstrating very high
satisfaction. Future studies are needed to identify which patients and conditions
are most suited for virtual versus in-person delivery of speech-language pathology
services in voice clinics.
Key Words
To read this article in full you will need to make a payment
Purchase one-time access:
Academic & Personal: 24 hour online accessCorporate R&D Professionals: 24 hour online accessOne-time access price info
- For academic or personal research use, select 'Academic and Personal'
- For corporate R&D use, select 'Corporate R&D Professionals'
Subscribe:
Subscribe to Journal of VoiceAlready a print subscriber? Claim online access
Already an online subscriber? Sign in
Register: Create an account
Institutional Access: Sign in to ScienceDirect
REFERENCES
- State of Telehealth.N Engl J Med. 2016; 375: 154-161https://doi.org/10.1056/NEJMra1601705
- Telemedicine-assisted neurotology in post-Katrina Southeast Louisiana.Otol Neurotol. 2010; 31: 524-527https://doi.org/10.1097/MAO.0b013e3181cdd69d
- Exploring the adoption of telemedicine and virtual software for care of outpatients during and after COVID-19 pandemic.Ir J Med Sci. 2021; 190: 1-10https://doi.org/10.1007/s11845-020-02299-z
- Voice Therapy in the Context of the COVID-19 Pandemic: Guidelines for Clinical Practice.Journal of Voice. 2020; (Published online)S0892199720302873https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jvoice.2020.08.001
- The implementation of telepractice in speech language pathology in hong kong during the COVID-19 pandemic.Telemed J E Health. 2021; 27: 30-38https://doi.org/10.1089/tmj.2020.0223
- Changing attitudes towards teletherapy in Austrian therapists during the COVID-19 pandemic.J Telemed Telecare. 2021; (Published online1357633X20986038)https://doi.org/10.1177/1357633X20986038
- Telemedicine for ENT: Effect on quality of care during Covid-19 pandemic.Eur Ann Otorhinolaryngol Head Neck Dis. 2020; 137: 257-261https://doi.org/10.1016/j.anorl.2020.06.014
- Patient and clinician experience with a rapidly implemented large-scale video consultation program during COVID-19.Int J Qual Health Care. 2021; 33: mzaa165https://doi.org/10.1093/intqhc/mzaa165
- The challenge of virtual voice therapy during the COVID-19 pandemic.J Voice. 2021; 35: 336-337https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jvoice.2020.06.015
- Telemedicine and the interdisciplinary clinic model: during the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond.Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg. 2020; 163: 673-675https://doi.org/10.1177/0194599820932167
- COVID-19 and speech-language pathology clinical practice of voice and upper airway disorders.Am J Speech Lang Pathol. 2021; 30: 63-74https://doi.org/10.1044/2020_AJSLP-20-00228
- In the zoom where it happened: telepractice and the voice clinic in 2020.Semin Speech Lang. 2021; 42: 64-72https://doi.org/10.1055/s-0040-1722750
- Reentry Following COVID-19: Concerns for Singers.Journal of Singing. 2021; (Published onlineAvailable at:)
- Care, convenience, comfort, confidentiality, and contagion: the 5 C's that will shape the future of telemedicine.J Parkinsons Dis. 2020; 10: 893-897https://doi.org/10.3233/JPD-202109
- Telepractice for adult speech-language pathology services: a systematic review.Perspect ASHA SIGs. 2020; 5: 326-338https://doi.org/10.1044/2019_PERSP-19-00146
- Telerehabilitation for people with aphasia: a systematic review and meta-analysis.J Commun Disord. 2021; 92106111https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcomdis.2021.106111
- Cost analysis of a speech pathology synchronous telepractice service for patients with head and neck cancer.Head Neck. 2017; 39: 2470-2480https://doi.org/10.1002/hed.24916
- Swallowing muscle training for oropharyngeal dysphagia: A non-inferiority study of online versus face-to-face therapy.J Telemed Telecare. 2021; (Published online1357633X211035033)https://doi.org/10.1177/1357633X211035033
- Assessing disordered speech and voice in Parkinson's disease: a telerehabilitation application.Int J Lang Commun Disord. 2010; 45: 630-644https://doi.org/10.3109/13682820903470569
- Videophone-delivered voice therapy: a comparative analysis of outcomes to traditional delivery for adults with Parkinson's disease.Telemed J E Health. 2008; 14: 1070-1077https://doi.org/10.1089/tmj.2008.0040
- Delivering the Lee Silverman Voice Treatment (LSVT) by web camera: a feasibility study.Int J Lang Commun Disord. 2009; 44: 287-300https://doi.org/10.1080/13682820802033968
- Speech Therapy Telepractice for Vocal Cord Dysfunction (VCD): MaineCare (Medicaid) Cost Savings.Int J Telerehabil. 2012; 4: 33-36https://doi.org/10.5195/ijt.2012.6095
- Delivery of intensive voice therapy for vocal fold nodules via telepractice: a pilot feasibility and efficacy study.Journal of Voice. 2015; 29: 696-706https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jvoice.2014.12.003
- Telepractice versus in-person delivery of voice therapy for primary muscle tension dysphonia.Am J Speech Lang Pathol. 2015; 24: 386-399https://doi.org/10.1044/2015_AJSLP-14-0017
- Telehealth: voice therapy using telecommunications technology.Am J Speech Lang Pathol. 2003; 12: 432-439https://doi.org/10.1044/1058-0360(2003/089
- Telehealth and patient satisfaction: a systematic review and narrative analysis.BMJ Open. 2017; 7e016242https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2017-016242
- Comprehensive review of factors influencing the use of telepractice in stuttering treatment.Healthc Inform Res. 2021; 27: 57-66https://doi.org/10.4258/hir.2021.27.1.57
- Telehealth and autism: a systematic search and review of the literature.Int J Speech Lang Pathol. 2018; 20: 324-336https://doi.org/10.1080/17549507.2018.1465123
- Patient satisfaction with telehealth in rural settings: a systematic review.Int J Telerehabil. 2020; 12: 53-64https://doi.org/10.5195/ijt.2020.6303
- Outpatient physical, occupational, and speech therapy synchronous telemedicine: a survey study of patient satisfaction with virtual visits during the COVID-19 pandemic.Am J Phys Med Rehabil. 2020; 99: 977-981https://doi.org/10.1097/PHM.0000000000001571
- Comparison of patient satisfaction between virtual visits during the COVID-19 pandemic and in-person visits pre-pandemic.Ann Otol Rhinol Laryngol. 2020; (Published online)000348942097776https://doi.org/10.1177/0003489420977766
- Evaluating barriers to adopting telemedicine worldwide: a systematic review.J Telemed Telecare. 2018; 24: 4-12https://doi.org/10.1177/1357633X16674087
- Home telehealth: patient satisfaction, program functions, and challenges for the care coordinator.J Gerontol Nurs. 2011; 37: 38-46https://doi.org/10.3928/00989134-20110706-02
- Keys to improving patient satisfaction in the pediatric urology clinic: A starting point.J Pediatr Urol. 2020; 16: 377-383https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpurol.2020.03.013
- Telemedicine in otolaryngology.Am J Otolaryngol. 2002; 23: 35-43https://doi.org/10.1053/ajot.2002.28770
- Telerehabilitation for older people using off-the-shelf applications: acceptability and feasibility.J Telemed Telecare. 2014; 20: 370-376https://doi.org/10.1177/1357633X14552382
Quick Facts: Minnesota. US Census report Available at: https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/MN
Article Info
Publication History
Published online: April 09, 2022
Accepted:
March 10,
2022
Publication stage
In Press Corrected ProofIdentification
Copyright
© 2022 The Voice Foundation. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
