The world changed significantly over the past 18 months, due to the ongoing global COVID-19 pandemic. Travel ceased, people were told to stay home, and almost everything became virtual; work, school, events, and social gatherings all moved online. This transition from in-person to virtual meetings also included healthcare. During the pandemic, there has been a huge change in both the demand for, and the provision of, virtual healthcare (also known as telehealth) 1,2.
Audiology is no different, the pandemic has increased the adoption of telehealth in hearing healthcare significantly 3. With the increase in telehealth, the selection of the technology used to enable remote care has become even more important. Unitron’s remote care solution is called remote adjust. Based on a simple workflow and an asynchronous model, remote adjust provides an easy, flexible, and convenient way for you to support your clients when they can’t come into the clinic.
The use of telehealth has increased dramatically due to COVID-19 1,2. Prior to COVID-19 the overall attitude towards telehealth by hearing care providers (HCPs) was positive 4. But adoption was very low, with less than 5% of HCPs using it regularly 3. With COVID-19 the number of HCPs regularly using telehealth has increased significantly — to almost 50% 3. It is estimated that even after COVID-19 the use of telehealth will be significantly higher than before, with 40-50% of consumers indicating that they believe they will continue to use telehealth going forward 1,2.
Like it or not, telehealth is likely here to stay so it is important that the solutions you choose fit seamlessly into your practice. Remote adjust, Unitron’s telehealth solution, is designed to be easily integrated into your existing workflow.
Remote adjust allows you to quickly send professional adjustments to your clients’ hearing aids. This is done remotely, giving you an additional tool to support your clients even when you can’t see them face-to-face. Whether they live far from your clinic, are away on vacation, or are stuck at home, you can continue to support them with professional adjustments.
Your clients can contact you as they usually do. Regardless of their preferred method — phone, email, text message, or even carrier pigeon — remote adjust is designed to fit within your established workflow.
Using remote adjust is a simple process, and done within Unitron’s TrueFit software. Once you make your adjustment in TrueFit, it is sent to the Sonova cloud. Your client then receives a notification on their smartphone, and they are free to apply the adjustment whenever they want, by using the Remote Plus app. If the client doesn’t like the update, they can also revert to earlier adjustments — so they never need to worry about losing their settings.
When remote adjust was originally introduced (with Unitron’s Discover Next platform) adjustments were limited to two functions — gain and compression. With the introduction of Unitron’s Blu platform, remote adjust has been expanded. Seven additional parameters can now be adjusted, including microphone mode, noise reduction, dynamic noise reduction, speech enhancement, AntiShock 2, phase canceller, and wind control. This makes remote adjust a more comprehensive distance support solution for supporting your clients when they can’t come into the clinic. While functionality has been greatly expanded, remote adjust remains intuitive and easy to use.
Remote adjust’s asynchronous approach provides great flexibility in how you support your clients — you no longer need to be in the same place at the same time. Synchronous solutions share the benefit of not having to be in the same physical location, but they still require you to meet virtually at the same time. With remote adjust you can send adjustments at any time from anywhere. Neither you nor your client needs to schedule anything. Remote adjust also does not rely on a synchronous connection, meaning you are not limited by internet speed and bandwidth requirements necessary for video meetings.
Asynchronous care is convenient for both you and your clients. With remote adjust you are free to send adjustments to your clients at a time that fits into your schedule, and they are free to apply the adjustments at a time that fits into their schedule. You can still schedule a phone call or virtual meeting — but you also don’t have to. Remote adjust gives you the flexibility to send professional adjustments to your clients in the way that best works for both of you.
With its easy and simple workflow remote adjust provides you with the flexibility to professionally adjust your clients’ hearing instruments even when they can’t come into your office. And since it is asynchronous, adjustments can be made at a time that is convenient for you, and applied at a time that is convenient for your clients. Remote adjust provides you with an easy, flexible, and convenient remote care solution.