Teleaudiology Guidelines
Audiology Australia’s Teleaudiology Guidelines offer a blueprint for delivering hearing services, safely and effectively, by an audiologist or audiometrist in a different location to their client.
About the Teleaudiology Guidelines
The Teleaudiology Guidelines are based on clinical evidence and guidance developed by organisations with expertise in delivering hearing and health care remotely.
Teleaudiology is a service delivery option which can complement in-person care. We encourage audiologists and audiometrists to explore the guidelines to identify how you can use teleaudiology to enhance your service delivery.
The guidelines are intended to:
- support the decision making of audiologists and audiometrists
- enhance consumer access to quality hearing services regardless of a consumer’s location, abilities, social or economic circumstances.
How and when it is used should be guided by the professional judgment, skills and competencies of the audiologist or audiometrist; the client’s preferences, hearing care needs, digital literacy and capability; access to technology and reliable infrastructure; and safety and cultural responsiveness.
Teleaudiology Guidelines
Download your PDF copy here.
Why teleaudiology is so important
The Teleaudiology Guidelines are intended to help improve models of care for people who need hearing care and ensure the consistency of quality services across Australia.
In some circumstances, teleaudiology may enhance the level of care, for example, by:
- offering more options to involve other health care professionals in an appointment who are in different locations to the client or audiologist or audiometrist
- using teleaudiology to follow up after appointments maintains continuity of care
- improving access to care for people who need hearing services and experience a shortage or lack of locally available services, mobility challenges, or cannot get to in-person appointments owing to family or work responsibilities
- offering more flexible and convenient options for a client to interact with their audiologist or audiometrist from their home, workplace or another location that is quiet with a stable internet connection.
Download the companion resources:
Social media artwork kit
Help raise awareness of the guidelines. Share the artwork to help reach a broad audience of people with an interest in hearing care service delivery and telehealth models.
Frequently asked questions
when were the guidelines developed?
The Teleaudiology Guidelines were officially launched via an online webinar on 27 July 2022.
The Australian Government Department of Health commissioned Audiology Australia to develop the Teleaudiology Guidelines, with funding allocated from the 2020 Budget package to implement key initiatives from the Roadmap for Hearing Health.
We would like to thank everyone who contributed to the consultation and testing phase of the project. Particular thanks go to members of the Teleaudiology Guidelines Working Group: Dr Bec Bennett (Chair), Dr Barbra Timmer, Dr David Allen, Frances Lockhart, Mark Paton, Stephen Williamson, Ian Rimes, Jane MacDonald, and Ashley Wilson AM.
Do the Teleaudiology Guidelines other guidance documents?
No. The Teleaudiology Guidelines complement guidance documented elsewhere such as:
- the Code of Conduct and Scope of Practice
- privacy principles and data security guidelines
- funders’ requirements for public and private health services delivered under the Hearing Services Program, the Medical Benefits Scheme, private health insurance or the National Disability Insurance Scheme.
Are the Teleaudiology Guidelines mandatory?
No. Teleaudiology is a service delivery option.
Clinical competencies and duty of care apply to an audiologist or audiometrist whether a hearing service is delivered in person or remotely.
Audiology Australia does not mandate standards for any service delivery models.
Do the Teleaudiology Guidelines address the delivery of hearing care across national borders?
Teleaudiology is already being used to provide hearing care across Australia’s national border:
- by an Australian-based audiologist or audiometrist to an Australian resident travelling overseas or to a citizen of another country, for example through an international aid program
- by an audiologist or audiometrist in another country to a client resident in or visiting Australia
- Audiologists, audiometrists and providers must be aware of and comply with the legal and regulatory requirements including professional standards, accreditation or licensing that apply in the client’s location.
Clients using teleaudiology should confirm where their audiologist or audiometrist is based as well as their accreditation and membership of Audiology Australia or the Australian College of Audiology incorporating the Hearing Aid Audiology Society of Australia (ACAud inc. HAASA).
Will teleaudiology replace in-person services?
No. Teleaudiology is an alternative way to deliver hearing services. It can complement in-person care. The client’s preferences and circumstances should be considered together with the professional judgment of the audiologist or audiometrist about how to achieve the best outcomes for their client.
Most hearing services can be delivered using one or more forms of teleaudiology.
Clinical guidance is a key element of the Teleaudiology Guidelines, drawing on evidence and other considerations to help an audiologist or audiometrist determine how to achieve optimal outcomes for their client.
Who can use teleaudiology?
Teleaudiology is suitable for anyone who requires hearing services, regardless of age, location, residential arrangements, abilities, or social and economic circumstances.
Qualified and accredited audiologists and audiometrists can deliver hearing services using teleaudiology. In doing so, they must abide by:
- the Scope of Practice, Code of Conduct, Professional Practice guidance and competency standards
- legal and regulatory requirements such as privacy, record keeping etc.
Teleaudiology Guidelines do not replace or diminish the professional judgement and duty of care that audiologists and audiometrists apply to their clinical practice.
Why is teleaudiology necessary?
Delivering health care remotely has evolved over many years for a wide range of health services. The 2019 Roadmap to Hearing Health, building on earlier Parliamentary and other reports, identified the potential of teleaudiology to address inequitable access to hearing services for people living in rural and remote parts of Australia.
The COVID-19 pandemic increased the level of interest in and take up of teleaudiology to support Australians’ hearing health during lockdowns, travel restrictions and temporary business closures.
The Teleaudiology Guidelines recognise this need, helping to improve models of care for people who need hearing care and ensuring the consistency of quality services across Australia.
HAVE A QUESTION?
For further information, email us at policy@audiology.asn.au or call 03 9940 3900.