Balogun, et. al. (2025)
1. Balogun focuses on how telehealth impacts the profession of social work and how it benefits individuals who face barriers. The topics that were addressed in the article were expected from my perspective. I believe the reason of telehealth for individuals who have barriers to in-person access is something that I have seen consistently to support this type of format. These could include the way telehealth improves and encourages those with barriers to seek therapeutic or case management sessions (Balogun et al.,2.2, 2025). But I did learn some information throughout the article. Something that I was not educated in and surprised me is the way telehealth can be beneficial for visual, auditory, or mobility impairments. I didn’t know that a resource like telehealth could provide them with assistive technologies that include screen readers and speech-to-text tools. Another topic I was surprised about is how telehealth can encourage interaction between communities. Since I pictured telehealth as more of a one-on-one experience, I was surprised that it could encourage individuals to engage with others about their own recovery journeys (Balogun et al., 3.4, 2025).
2. I do believe what the articles state about vulnerable populations facing significant barriers to social services (Balogun et al., 2025). And I do believe that telehealth is a more accessible resource to receive these services. I believe it does eliminate a lot of those unique obstacles that any individual can have that would keep them from receiving services they need. These obstacles can be due to barriers consisting of language, physical, cultural, etc. I do believe telehealth covers all kinds of inclusivity for individuals to participate in services. By participating in inclusive social services, it can lead these individuals to challenge stereotypes and normalize the use.
3. Something I believe they should include more about is the experience of the social worker’s transition from in-person to telehealth meetings. I would like to know more about whether the transition and the weight affect the quality of the service provided for the individuals. I would also like to know about how professionals can ensure that the same type of training is being provided to all professionals.
4. I think one of the challenges that stood out the most to me is how telehealth can have cultural and systemic factor challenges (Balogun et al., 4.4, 2025). The author states that these barriers are needed to provide a trusted environment for diverse populations. And the absence of these cultural interventions can create an uncomfortable area for diverse individuals to participate in social services. Not receiving what they need to participate can keep tem from partaking any further from any type of services like these.
Zhu, et. al. (2024)
1. I think what surprised me to see is the role of health insurance. I never would have thought that health insurance would be a primary role in the use of telemedicine. I was not surprised to see that the primary health insurance reimbursement came from public insurance. But what did surprise me is that the reimbursement for telemedicine and in-person is the same for most providers. I would think that telemedicine service would be reimbursed less because it is an appointment being made virtually. I am not sure if public insurance has fixed rates that don’t change the cost between an in-person and virtual appointment. But from initial thought, I would assume virtual appointments would have less reimbursement than physical ones.
2. I was not expecting to learn that providers used telemedicine frequently before the pandemic. Although it wasn’t for all of their cases, they did use it for a good amount. I expected providers to use it here and there for individuals with barriers to social services. But overall was surprised to learn that it was a common format to use in their practice. What I did expect was for providers to like it and be involved with the telemedicine format once the pandemic had ended. It was discussed that some providers were uncomfortable using this type of format, but I believe because the pandemic kind of forced them to use it, it created this whole new world for them. They are now familiar with it and see the benefits of it.
3. One factor I read that affected the thought of a practitioner using telemedicine again was the reimbursements. Providers who were expecting to use telemedicine after the pandemic would most likely serve patients who would pay out of pocket rather than the reimbursement from public insurance (Zhu et al., 2024). It further discusses that providers would use telemedicine frequently if they had help with the reimbursements without having to worry about delays and involving the process. Another factor was comfort. Only about half of the providers who were in this study felt comfortable using telemedicine before the pandemic. Although that comfort grew after the pandemic, providers are hesitant to use the format because of how their engagement with it is illustrated and received by the client. And in the end, how do providers know this format is effective and ethically used?
4. A personal concern of mine is whether telemedicine is maintaining those strong ethical relationships between provider and client. I feel like a screen can make it difficult to transmit nonverbal communication. I also feel like the client can slowly start to detach from the provider if they start to feel that the provider isn’t putting in enough effort as they used to during in-person appointments. Because I have had Telehealth and in-person appointments with the same provider, and I can tell a difference in rapport in effort between both.
I found a video of how Telehealth is used by Local Boards of Disabilities and Special Needs. And how beneficial it is for the individuals who work there but also the individuals who live there. They share why they implemented Telehealth and how the process works. They share it efficient it is for the individuals who live in these local boards.
Balogun, A. K., Dada, S. N., Kazeem, O., & Bakare-Adesokan, K. A. (2025, January 24). Integrating telehealth services in Social Work Practice for vulnerable groups. World Journal of Advanced Research and Reviews. https://wjarr.com/content/integrating-telehealth-services-social-work-practice-vulnerable-groups
South Carolina ETV. (2023). Learn How Telehealth is Used by Local Boards of Disabilities & Special Needs [Review of Learn How Telehealth is Used by Local Boards of Disabilities & Special Needs]. https://youtu.be/YzsxT7FPDYg
Zhu, D., Paige, S. R., Slone, H., Gutierrez, A., Lutzky, C., Hedriana, H., Barrera, J. F., Ong, T., & Bunnell, B. E. (2024). Sage Journals. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/1357633X21102594
I appreciate your curiosity about what the experience of practitioners in the field was like during the transition. It was a notion I had as well, but I hadn’t followed that thought terribly far. Now that you’ve brought it up it has me wondering – were some practitioners experiencing difficulty in the switch on their own end, from either a technical side or possible frustration at having to take on a new service delivery method? What of practitioners that are less technology savvy – how did their organizations help (or hinder) the process of on-boarding to new systems technologies? I think it would be worthwhile to speak to the professional during this time and get an understanding of what aspects in particular made the transition either easy or hard for them. This way, we can utilize the knowledge in practices that have still not completed the transition to providing such services.
I also like that you considered your own experiences of being both in-person and virtual with the same provider, and how you felt a different level of rapport during those appointments. I’m curious as to if rapport that is established virtually has better long-term satisfaction outcomes when compared to clients who begin with their provider in-person. I also understand your concern regarding the issue of body-language. Inversely, I think some clients may feel more comfortable expressing themselves virtually – particularly those going through drug-addiction or domestic violence, as Balogun points out in his article. While I hadn’t considered the anonymity angle previously, I think there is merit in being more comfortable reaching out for assistance when there is a level of quasi-anonymity involved. I believe this extends to other avenues as well – clients that may not want to be seen or discuss having to travel to appointments with people in their social networks may be more readily willing to attend and open up more candidly in virtual spaces.
Naomi,
If you think about the service rather than the medium – or the method of transmition – insurance has always been an issue in the provision of mental health services. Whether public or private insurance, it has been consistently a debate about teh coverage of such services. In reality, all we are doing is providing the service in a different way. You are right that the pandemic is what precipitated this change, but the concepts are all still there. We have argued, as social workers, that telementalhealth presented barriers to the establishment of a stong client-social worker relationship – or therapeutic alliance. But when we were forced to utilize this format, most of us learned we were able to accomplish the same or similar goals – just with a slightly different spin. There are lots of things both articles raise in terms of the quality of this service that we need to be aware of, but the idea that you can provide the service remotely has been well confirmed. And frequently, clients feel they are better served, not less. Telehealth and telementalhealth can actually become a bit intense.
Lots of people think that remote, or telementalhealth should be cheaper, but if you stop and think a moment, just the opposite would be true logically. You have more equipment, you need additional skills, and you typically work harder to accomplish a similar goal. I hear that a lot regarding my teaching online, asynchronous classes. “Oh, wow, that must be a lot easier for you.” Do they still pay you the same?” Trust me, exactly the opposite is true for remote education – if we are willing to do it well.
Good discussion. While I appreciate your interest in wanting to add to your post, I’m lettng all of you know that you don’t need to add youtube vidoes or other references. It’s more than sufficient to focus on what you have read for the assignment.
Dr P