Telerehabilitation
Pronunciation: tel-ee-ree-HAB-il-ih-TAY-shun
The delivery of rehabilitation assessment, therapy, and monitoring services to patients at a distance using telecommunications and digital technologies.
Full Definition
Telerehabilitation is a subspecialty of telehealth in which rehabilitation interventions — including physiotherapy, occupational therapy, speech-language pathology, and assistive technology training — are provided remotely via video conferencing, mobile applications, wearable sensors, or purpose-built platforms. In editorial documents, 'telerehabilitation' is written as a single unhyphenated word; editors should flag 'tele-rehabilitation' as a non-standard variant unless required by a specific publisher's style guide. The term gained significant prominence during and after the COVID-19 pandemic, and many clinical documents from that period use variant spellings. 'Telerehabilitation' is distinct from 'remote monitoring', which refers to passive data collection without direct therapeutic interaction.
Usage
Usage note: Write as one unhyphenated word: 'telerehabilitation'. Flag 'tele-rehabilitation' as non-standard. Distinguish from 'remote monitoring', which lacks direct therapeutic interaction.
In Context
- "The study compared outcomes for patients receiving telerehabilitation versus standard face-to-face physiotherapy following knee replacement." — Clinical trial protocol
- "The policy brief uses 'tele-rehabilitation' throughout; this should be standardised to 'telerehabilitation' per current APA and AMA conventions." — Editorial correction note