Telehealth is the use of communication technologies to deliver healthcare virtually, which may involve telephone counseling, video consultations and remote monitoring. Telehealth allows individuals and families across Canada to be served, in both urban and rural communities. The use of telehealth has increased significantly since the Covid-19 pandemic, as in-person access to healthcare became very limited.
Studies show that online eating disorder treatment is associated with large improvements of eating disorder symptoms, clinical impairment, depression, anxiety, mood, and self-esteem. Researchers also found that telehealth treatment options remained as effective as in-person treatments options at reducing eating disorder symptoms. Furthermore, clients who attended telehealth appointments perceived the treatment as being “as good as” or “better than” than face to face appointments and parents reported high rates of satisfaction with the treatments offered.
Benefits of Telehealth
Accessibility
Studies show that it is possible to deliver family-based therapy treatment via a telehealth platform, with no compromise to the effectiveness of the treatment. A study that inspected the pattern of eating disorder symptoms during the transition from face-to-face to telehealth sessions revealed most clients experienced substantial improvements from 10-session cognitive behavioural therapy for eating disorders (CBT-T), cognitive behavioural therapy for eating disorders (CBT-e), or family-based treatment (FBT) delivered through telehealth.
Telehealth may be effective for providing treatment to adolescents living in areas of the country where there are inadequate treatment resources and not geographically close to treatment centers, such as nonurban or rural settings. Telehealth also allows for shorter wait times so treatment can be provided sooner and offers a cost-effective strategy to allow individuals to access care.
Comfort
Telehealth removes any long, awkward car rides home after sessions and reduces barriers when attending a session for the first time. Telehealth also reduces the intensity of comparison to others during group sessions as only the participant’s face is visible.
Flexibility
Telehealth offers more flexible scheduling, which means no need to miss school, work, extracurriculars or social time to attend sessions. Studies have found that telemedicine allows increased participation of parents that may live in separate households or who are working parents.
Privacy
It is possible to attend telehealth appointments from the privacy of your own home and reduces the worry of running into someone you may know in the waiting room. At Change Creates Change, our telehealth video runs over a secure, encrypted platform to ensure privacy is protected.
Environmental Sustainability
A study observed the use of telehealth over a 2 year period, and found that the university health systems alone, saved the need to travel approximately 53.7 million miles. On average, telehealth allowed the individuals to avoid:
- Traveling 17.6 miles to appointments
- 35 minutes of travel time to the visit
- Paying approximately $11 for travel to appointments
It was also estimated that greenhouse gas emissions were reduced due to fewer vehicle trips. It was found that telehealth saved close to 21,466 metric tons of CO2 emission the two years, which is equivalent to a year’s worth of CO2 emissions from the electricity use of 4,177 U.S. homes.
Challenges of Telehealth
Studies have found that telehealth treatment options are as effective as previous in-person treatments, however, improved communication and more focused attention may be easier to achieve during in-person groups. Some of the common challenges associated with telehealth include ethical considerations, cost associated with equipment, and communication quality control. Another consideration is that families in rural areas may have limited access to reliable internet and may have financial barriers that limit device capability available to them for telehealth treatment.
Things to keep in mind for telehealth appointments:
- It is best for calls to occur in a quiet, private space.
- Internet access and a stable internet connection are required for video calls.
- We encourage cameras to be on during video appointments so we can best engage with our clients.
- Signing in from a tablet or computer (versus a smart phone) allows your health care providers to better assess and interpret body language
At Change Creates Change, our team delivers nutrition counselling and psychotherapy via a secure video platform (telehealth). Book a free consultation call to learn more!
*Reserved for Canadian residents.
