Telepractice in the Treatment of Speech and Voice Disorders: What Could the Future Look Like?

Abstract

Purpose: There is an ongoing technological revolution in the clinical tools used by speech-language pathologists (SLPs) to care for patients. The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated the pace of change and the shift to telepractice. Telepractice will continue to play a large role after the pandemic, but it is unclear what the future may look like. Our goal is to give SLPs an overview of how recent technological innovations may enhance synchronous treatment, enable asynchronous treatment, and broadly modify traditional clinical practice patterns while the patient spends less time in the clinic. Conclusions: Newer telepractice tools such as remote patient monitoring, digital phenotyping, virtual reality, and artificial intelligence may improve the therapeutic process by addressing the shortage of SLPs and the transition of therapy practices to the real world. We also highlight key barriers to this future, including lack of rigorous trials of advanced technologies and state licensure regulations.