On this edition of The FOX Five, FOX Rehabilitation’s Michelle MacLean, CCC-SLP, details five things she thinks everyone should know about telehealth, especially how it positively impacts and opens new doors in the world of speech language pathology. Michelle treats in the state of Texas, and with the added benefit of telehealth, she has the ability to see a patient regardless of if their virtual set-up is in Houston, Dallas, Austin, or San Antonio. The flexibility telehealth provides patients, caregivers, family members, and clinicians makes it a win for everyone.

Jim: Hello everyone, welcome to The FOX Five, the show that explores the wonderful world of FOX Rehabilitation through an original list created by a FOX colleague. Today's FOX colleague is FOX Rehabilitation speech-language pathologist, Michelle MacLean. Welcome!

Michelle: Hello, thanks for having me.

Jim: I'm super geeked out right now because I just discovered that your dad's name is John MacLean.

Michelle: It is, in fact. Every time he meets someone, they ask him. He gets asked that all the time. They're like, "Oh, Die Hard!”

Jim: Are you familiar with that motion picture classic?

Michelle: Of course. My dad has educated me in that film for sure.

Jim: I mean, he has to because his name is John MacLean.

Michelle: Absolutely.

Jim: Alright, so Michelle, what is your FOX Five today?

Michelle: My FOX Five is Five Things You Need to Know About Telehealth.

Jim: Yeah, because you're doing it, right? You're down there in Texas doing telehealth.

Michelle: Oh yes, in the big state of Texas.

Jim: I love this FOX Five because I think it's both educational for patients and clinicians.

Michelle: Absolutely, yeah. For some, it’s like, “What is Telehealth?” And then as soon as you break it down, they say, "Oh yeah, give me some of that telehealth." It can be scary at first, like, "Oh, I'm going to do telehealth," but once you figure some things out, it's not too bad. It's actually really nice.

Jim: Alright, so let's break it down. Michelle, what is Number One on your FOX Five?

Michelle: My Number One is creativity and adaptiveness. As SLPs, we can tap into our creativity with telehealth, especially when it comes to how we give our assessments and treatments. Since we are so used to seeing patients in person, I always have patients have a paper and pen with them during our testing and sessions to help adapt to those questions that require them to write. Then, I just have them show me their answer to the camera. It can be a little different in telehealth sessions, but we have to be prepared to adapt. Of course, as SLPs, we're pretty good at adapting.

Jim: That's what you do. When does it click for a patient in a session? Maybe at first they're like, "What are we doing here?" At what point do they think, "Oh yeah, this is cool"?

Michelle: I think I just build that rapport with my patients and make sure that I let them know that I'm patient when they're having trouble using telehealth in general.

Jim: Even before the world of telehealth, SLPs had to be patient just by the craft.

Michelle: Yeah, absolutely.

Jim: So, Michelle, what is Number Two on your FOX Five?

Michelle: Number Two is treating across the SLP spectrum. Patients can be seen for comprehensive plans of care on telehealth: treating cognition, voice, speech, and language. Additionally, patients can even be seen for a hybrid approach if accessible. For example, if you have a patient with severe swallowing issues, you can see them in person for a couple of days a week during meals to treat swallowing, and then maybe see them for that extra third visit during the week for cognition.

Jim: Michelle, that brings us to Number Three on your FOX Five.

Michelle: Telehealth is very accessible, as we all probably know. It's very beneficial for clinicians to save time between sessions, and it's also super convenient for patients to fit sessions into their own schedules. This helps meet the plan of care and the dosage for the week. Another awesome tool that highlights how versatile telehealth is, is the use of live captions on videos. Patients with hearing loss or language barriers can benefit from this to avoid communication breakdowns. I even use them for myself sometimes.

Jim: Flexibility for both the clinician and patient. I believe we call that a win-win.

Michelle: For sure.

Jim: Michelle, that brings us to Number Four on your FOX Five.

Michelle: Number Four is having family nearby for telehealth sessions. It can be super beneficial for helping our patients log on and maintaining plan of care dosage. Especially with patients who have cognitive deficits, it takes a lot of executive functioning and sequencing skills to log onto the video independently. Family assistance is a huge help. This also involves the family more in the sessions, helping with the carryover of strategies discussed during the session, and maintaining compliance with exercise programs.

Jim: That brings us to Number Five on your FOX Five.

Michelle: Number Five is probably my favorite reason, so I saved it for last.

Jim: Nice, you saved the best for last. Even though it's Number Five, but technically it's your Number One.

Michelle: Absolutely. The beauty of Telehealth is that we can reach the speech therapy needs statewide. As long as your patient is in the same state that you're licensed in while treating them, the opportunities are endless to help people with speech therapy needs. I'm a full-time SLP in Central Texas, and as you know, Texas is huge. With telehealth, I've already helped people in Houston, Austin, and even up in Dallas.

Jim: Michelle, thank you for doing this FOX Five. Before you leave, can you take me through your first telehealth session? What were you thinking, and at the end of it, were you like, "Oh wow, I just did SLP on telehealth"?

Michelle: I remember thinking, "I don't know how this is going to work with my testing. How am I going to have them do the questions they're supposed to write down in front of me?" It seemed awkward because we were just staring at each other, but when I first did it, I think it went pretty smoothly. I didn't have any tech problems, and I knew I had Chantel Peraggine (FOX Virtual Care Specialist) to help me if I needed it. FOX already has so much support for their clinicians, so I knew if it did go wrong, I could always reschedule and try again. It went smoothly, and it's great. I've made a lot of great relationships with my telehealth patients who are far away from me.

Jim: When we were discussing the FOX Five and brought up telehealth, you were like, "Oh yeah, I'll do that. I do telehealth," and I thought, "Alright, nice. Educate the masses, Michelle."

Michelle: Absolutely, whatever I can do.