Taylor Rachel, Schein Richard, Morrow Corey
Department of Occupational Therapy, East Carolina University, Greenville, North Carolina, USA.
Department of Rehabilitation Science and Technology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA.
Int J Telerehabil. 2025 Jun 12;17(1):6682. doi: 10.63144/ijt.2025.6682. eCollection 2025.
Mobility impairments limit access to wheelchair services, especially in rural settings. Telehealth offers one potential solution to improve access. The purpose of this paper is to describe the current perceptions of telehealth wheelchair follow-up services among a select group working in the industry. A 35-question survey was completed by 32 stakeholders in the wheelchair industry to describe their perceptions of telehealth effectiveness, facilitators, and barriers for wheelchair provision and follow-up. Telehealth was generally perceived as effective for reaching rural populations, but specific subpopulations and technology requirements should also be considered. Respondents also indicated which Common Procedural Terminology (CPT) billing codes are commonly used for wheelchair services. The results of this survey will be used to design a quality improvement project within a rural healthcare system. This project will aim to improve access to wheelchair follow-up services via telehealth that are feasible and sustainable for the local healthcare system.
行动障碍限制了轮椅服务的获取，尤其是在农村地区。远程医疗提供了一种改善获取途径的潜在解决方案。本文的目的是描述该行业中特定群体对远程医疗轮椅随访服务的当前看法。轮椅行业的32名利益相关者完成了一项包含35个问题的调查，以描述他们对远程医疗在轮椅提供和随访方面的有效性、促进因素和障碍的看法。人们普遍认为远程医疗在覆盖农村人口方面是有效的，但也应考虑特定亚群体和技术要求。受访者还指出了轮椅服务常用的通用程序术语（CPT）计费代码。本次调查结果将用于设计农村医疗系统内的质量改进项目。该项目旨在通过远程医疗改善轮椅随访服务的获取，使其对当地医疗系统可行且可持续。
