Why Establishing Standards of Care is Critical for Audiologists
In this Hearing Horizons podcast, APSO President Laura Pratesi, AuD, discusses the organization's mission to define minimum standards of care.
In this Hearing Horizons podcast, APSO President Laura Pratesi, AuD, discusses the organization's mission to define minimum standards of care.
CDM has launched a “custom-curated TV program for BPP Network members to educate patients on the importance of Best Practice care.” These custom-curated videos feature Dr Cliff, AuD, who speaks directly to patients on a wide variety of Best Practice topics.
ClEAR, a company that develops products for individuals with hearing loss, announced the launch of its “category-defining digital therapeutic for hearing loss that enables organizations to offer comprehensive, evidence-based hearing healthcare to their populations,” called Amptify.
Jane Madell, PhD, has been a leading figure in pediatric audiology for the past 45 years. She is an audiologist, speech-language pathologist, and LSLS auditory-verbal therapist, with degrees from Emerson College (BA) and University of Wisconsin (MA, PhD). Her experience ranges from Deaf Nursery programs to leadership positions at the League for the Hard of Hearing, Long Island College Hospital, as well as Beth Israel Medical Center/New York Eye and Ear Infirmary as director of the Hearing and Learning Center and Cochlear Implant Center.
Read MoreJane Madell, PhD, has been a leading figure in pediatric audiology for the past 45 years. She is an audiologist, speech-language pathologist, and LSLS auditory-verbal therapist, with degrees from Emerson College (BA) and University of Wisconsin (MA, PhD). Her experience ranges from Deaf Nursery programs to leadership positions at the League for the Hard of Hearing, Long Island College Hospital, as well as Beth Israel Medical Center/New York Eye and Ear Infirmary as director of the Hearing and Learning Center and Cochlear Implant Center.
Read MoreAudiologist Dennis Van Vliet says smart, time-saving approaches to patient care must be efficient and not sacrifice the elements of good practice, but we shouldn’t doggedly stick to a prescribed routine that calls for rote completion of procedures when they yield little of the information needed to manage patients’ needs.
Read MoreBy participating in #KeepMakingWaves, patients and prospects can read stories of success. According to Widex, they can get insight into best practices, things to ask their doctor or clinician, and, overall, how to play a better role in their own hearing health.
Read MoreResponding to published concerns by the FCC that captioned telephone services (CTS) are being utilized by people who are not appropriate candidates—leading to potential funding deficits of this critical service—the American Academy of Audiology and the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association have jointly developed proposed best practices for determining eligibility for the program.
Read MoreIn creating and adopting standards of practice for audiology, we provide a shield for ourselves and our patients that will demonstrate the high level of care audiologists are capable of providing, improve confidence in audiology care, deter others from infringing on the audiology scope of practice, and protect each other from legal threats which may arise in the future.
Read MoreOTC hearing devices are coming, but how should they function and for whom should they be recommended? Drs Ron Leavitt, Ruth Bentler, and Carol Flexer present six case studies showing that people with true moderate hearing loss may not be well served by what has been characterized as a “consumer-decides” model of care.
Read MoreBefore jumping to the conclusion that any PSAP and/or future OTC hearing device would be suitable for the many different types of hearing losses, we need to look at their coupler and real-ear performance data. This study by Adam Voss, Kristi Oeding, AU Bankaitis, John Pumford, and Michael Valente suggests current PSAPs are suitable for mild losses only.
Read MoreNow that we’ve defined (at minimum) what an OTC hearing device should look like, maybe it’s time to start defining a minimal standard for what a professional hearing aid fitting should look like.
Read MoreValente et al found that 79% of the study participants preferred the programmed fittings using REM versus the first-fit. They conclude that “Using a first-fit alone without reprogramming using REM is fitting hearing aids blindly and not determining whether the patient is being provided appropriate audibility for soft and average speech…The audiologist or hearing aid dispenser can never be certain if he/she is appropriately fitting the patient without using REM.”
Read MoreIt’s time to clearly distinguish professional service from self-service by showing why licensed hearing care professionals can make a huge difference in hearing aid outcomes. Let’s commit to getting consumers a list of essentials by creating a voluntary standard protocol for every licensed professional who dispenses hearing aids. Let’s spell out what consumers should expect. And then let’s promote the hell out of it.
Read MoreThe Oticon “marketing intensive” aims to empower independent practitioners to accelerate practice growth with marketing approaches and tools designed to reach the consumers who are vital to their practice’s success.
Read MoreDr Valente is the author and co-author of four books, and is a well-known authority on audiologic testing, hearing aid fitting, research, and single-sided deafness.
Read MoreAs we look for more efficient and better ways of doing our jobs, I would challenge us to ask ourselves whether we are avoiding a hard road that leads to excellence, and slipping into a pathway that seems efficient but leads to mediocrity.
Read MoreThe bottom line is that benefit with a hearing instrument can and should be measured, assessed, adjusted, and documented to achieve maximum performance capabilities for all patients.
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