AN ECONOMIC ANALYSIS OF TELEMEDICINE USE FOR APHASIA TREATMENT IN STROKE SURVIVORS

Abstract

One of the significant societal changes we have seen after the COVID-19 pandemic is a shift toward telemedicine in the American healthcare system. This transition has various benefits for patients, especially for those residing in rural communities. The following paper explores the economic benefits of telemedicine use in aphasia treatment for stroke survivors. In this paper, I compare aphasia treatment via telemedicine to the standard in-person treatment. This review analyzes how treatment via telehealth may be more economically beneficial in three main areas: patient savings, speech-language pathologist savings, and overall efficiency. Through utilizing the findings of various published studies, this paper provides commentary on the marginal costs and benefits of telemedicine. Some of these studies quantify their findings through metrics like the Western Aphasia Battery Test (WAB-Q). In this paper, it is found that telemedicine care for aphasia patients is highly effective, more effective than in-person visits. This paper explores the various economic benefits of telehealth in aphasia treatment as well as its applications. It is important to note that further studies must be done to confirm the analysis and recommendations of this thesis.