Video: The benefits of virtual assessments for assistive technologies considering end-users, businesses and the environment

The third of a five-part webinar series exploring the topic of virtual assessments for assistive technologies has been released where specialists debate the benefits of video assessments.

Delivered by the British Healthcare Trades Association (BHTA), the third webisode asks assistive technology specialists what the benefits of virtual assessments are? Do the positives outweigh the drawbacks for business, the end user and the environment?

Chaired by BHTA’s Head of Policy, William Lee, the panel consisted of Matthew James, Director of Precision Rehab; Rachel Russell, Senior Regional Advisor for Foundations UK; Clare Barber, Professional Services Manager at Disabled Living Foundation (DLF); Julie Blake, Senior Clinical Manager at NRS Healthcare; James Bennett, Sales and Marketing Director at Care & Independence; and Nash Kumar, Director at Higher Elevation.

This latest webisode follows the previous session, where the assistive technology panel shared their experiences of whether there is a desire to move back to face-to-face assessments at London’s Tower Bridge Hotel.

Commenting on how virtual assessments benefit businesses and end-users in terms of costs, Julie Blake Senior Clinical Manager at NRS Healthcare, commented: “Even though our contracts are with local government and the statutory sector, we have to be very mindful that the statutory sector is a non-profit making organisation when we bid for contracts.

“There’s not a lot of profit in it, so we have to be very clear, as clinicians, and get that balance between duty of care and ethical service balanced against profit and loss.”

Clare Barber, Professional Services Manager at Disabled Living Foundation, added: “It’s very difficult to understand cost correctly. The costs you haven’t considered in these situations is the on-costs and the other bits and bobs that go around it.

“I think it’s so hard to work that out in such a limited time that we’ve had to look at these situations. Thinking about cost saving, yes, it’s going to be a factor, but we need to make it less of a factor and more of a factor about the outcomes for the person.”

The panel also debated how the obvious cost benefits of virtual assessments must be weighed up against other contributing factors, such as the quality of the assessments.  There was a general consensus amongst the panel that not physically meeting and assessing a client in person comprised this quality.

Matthew James, Director of Precision Rehab, shares that although clients may request a virtual assessment and quote, as a firm business practice he states: “I’ll quite happily give you a virtual quote or an estimate, but I wouldn’t commit to that without coming out.”

Matthew continues: “People have gone in and done it and they’ve sold a £25,000 chair that is absolutely useless.”