Note: This article adheres to the common use of two terms used to identify people who are Deaf or have hearing loss. The term Deaf (with a capital D) is used to describe individuals who do not hear and are “cultural” sign language users, while the term deaf (with a lower-case d) describes people who may lip-read and/or use hearing aids.
The expansion of telehealth services across the country has made it possible for almost anyone with a non-emergency medical problem to access a doctor by smart phone, pad or laptop, often within minutes, or at least, the same day. But for the Deaf and hard of hearing, access to telehealth providers such as Teladoc, American Well and others is more of a challenge.
The reason is simple: a videoconferencing session requires participants to hear what the person on the other side of the screen is saying.
