Remote programming of MED-EL cochlear implants: users' and professionals' evaluation of the remote programming experience.
CONCLUSIONS
Remote programming is safe and is well received by health-care professionals and cochlear implant (CI) users. It can be adopted into clinic routine as an alternative to face-to-face programming.


OBJECTIVE
Telemedicine allows a patient to be treated anywhere in the world. Although it is a growing field, little research has been published on its application to CI programming. We examined hearing professionals' and CI users' subjective reactions to the remote programming experience, including the quality of the programming and the use of the relevant technology.


METHODS
Remote CI programming was performed in Italy, Sweden, and Russia. Programming sessions had three participants: a CI user, a local host, and a remote expert. After the session, each CI user, local host, and remote expert each completed a questionnaire on their experience.


RESULTS
In all, 33 remote programming sessions were carried out, resulting in 99 completed questionnaires. The overwhelming majority of study participants responded positively to all aspects of remote programming. CI users were satisfied with the results in 96.9% of the programming sessions; 100% of participants would use remote programming again. Although technical problems were encountered, they did not cause the sessions to be considerably longer than face-to-face sessions.
Saint-Petersburg Research Institute of Ear, Throat, Nose and Speech , St Petersburg , Russia.
Vladislav
V
Kuzovkov
Yuri
Y
Yanov
Sergey
S
Levin
Roberto
R
Bovo
Monica
M
Rosignoli
Gunnar
G
Eskilsson
Staffan
S
Willbas
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D019929:Cochlear Implantation; D003054:Cochlear Implants; D034381:Hearing Loss / Q000628:therapy*; D006801:Humans; D007558:Italy; D008875:Middle Aged; D017060:Patient Satisfaction; D017755:Prosthesis Fitting; D058998:Remote Sensing Technology / Q000379:methods*; D012426:Russia; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013548:Sweden; D055815:Young Adult
Remote fitting; remote care; telehealth; telemedicine