Hartford HealthCare Rehabilitation Network (HHCRN) provides virtual health services for physical therapy, occupational therapy, and speech and language pathology both for initial patient evaluations and their follow-up treatment sessions.
Dayle M. Stark, DPT, Site Supervisor for HHCRN’s Storrs outpatient clinic, on how the program works and how patients who do not wish to, or are unable to, visit a clinic in person, can access this service:
“Some of the most common diagnoses were seeing right now include after-care for total knee and hip replacements, low back pain, neck pain, hand wrist and elbow injuries, as well as voice, cognition and swallowing diagnoses. All of these can be treated virtually and there are very few limitations for who can have an effective appointment with us this format.”
To set up an appointment, patients can call their therapist’s location as they normally would to schedule an appointment and let the patient service representative know that they would prefer a virtual appointment. Then, 24-48 hours before their scheduled appointment, the patient service representative will give them a call and ensure they are able to connect to the system and help troubleshoot any problems.
Stark said that despite not being able to provide hands-on treatment for patients who use these services, therapists and clinicians still see positive outcomes.
“In some cases we can provide better care than we can in the clinic,” she said. “Patients don’t live in our rehab clinics; they live in their homes and work in offices and other environments. We do our best to recreate these in the clinic, but with virtual health we can see them in real time perform the task they have pain or difficulty performing, like bending to place dishes in a dishwasher or sitting at their desk or reaching for something in their cabinet. And we can make changes right then and there for an immediate benefit.”
For those who are considering going the route of receiving care virtually, Stark has this advice:
“Just give it a try! We are here to fully support you and help you every step of the way.”
For more information about Hartford HealthCare Rehabilitation Network’s virtual health services, click here.