What competencies do I need to be an effective telehealth clinician using videoconferencing? Read more below to learn about a new framework developed by a physiotherapist for physiotherapists to learn about the essential skills needed when assessing and treating through telehealth.
Luke Davies is a musculoskeletal physiotherapist working in private practice and he is a PhD candidate at the University of Melbourne within the Centre for Health, Exercise and Sports Medicine and Department of Physiotherapy.
Part of his doctoral work has been to develop a core capability framework for clinicians to assist in the delivery of high quality telehealth via videoconferencing.
We asked Luke a few questions about his work:
What is the core capability framework for physiotherapists to deliver quality care over video conferencing?
-
- The core capability framework informs physiotherapists about the skills needed to provide high-quality care via videoconferencing in several areas, including compliance, patient privacy and confidentiality, patient safety, technology skills, telehealth delivery assessment and diagnosis, and care planning and management.
Why did you develop it?
-
- A review of the literature revealed that no specific frameworks existed to assist physiotherapists in gaining the necessary knowledge, confidence, and abilities to provide care via videoconferencing. As a result, we determined that developing a framework that could be used in a variety of clinical settings was important
The infographic below explains the process behind the development of the framework. Click here to download the infographic below.
Luke’s paper aims to provide the knowledge, confidence and practical skills for clinicians to deliver effective telehealth care. Also translatable to other allied health professions, the framework provides assessment strategies and learning outcomes for studying and new clinicians, as well as those with many years of professional experience. Luke’s paper has been well received internationally, including being endorsed by The International Society for Telemedicine and eHealth. This paper was also named paper of the year by The Journal of Physiotherapy, the official journal of The Australian Physiotherapy Association. Below is a link to the paper.
An international core capability framework for physiotherapists to deliver quality care via videoconferencing: a Delphi study
Davies, Hinman, Russell, Lawford, Bennell (2021)
Luke and his research team also developed a self-appraisal checklist, where clinicians can rate themselves in the attainment of each core capability. Below is a link to the clinician resource and checklist (page 13).