Lowering Barriers to Patient Access | WAHTS

Mobile technology has the potential to…lower barriers to patient access by providing time efficient, portable and self-administered testing options.

OBJECTIVE: The goal of this article is to highlight mobile technology that is not yet standard of care but could be considered for use in an ototoxicity monitoring programme (OMP) as an adjunct to traditional audiometric testing. Current guidelines for ototoxicity monitoring include extensive test protocols performed by an audiologist in an audiometric booth. This approach is comprehensive, but it may be taxing for patients suffering from life-threatening illnesses and cost prohibitive if it requires serial clinical appointments. With the use of mobile technology, testing outside of the confines of the audiometric booth may be possible, which could create more efficient and less burdensome OMPs.

DESIGN: Non-systematic review of new OMP technology was performed. Experts were canvassed regarding the impact of new technology on OMPs.

STUDY SAMPLE: OMP devices and technologies that are commercially available and discussed in the literature.

RESULTS: The benefits and limitations of portable, tablet-based technology that can be deployed for efficient ototoxicity monitoring are discussed.

CONCLUSIONS: Mobile technology has the potential to influence the development and implementation of OMPs and lower barriers to patient access by providing time-efficient, portable, and self-administered testing options for use in the clinic and in the patient’s home.