Technology Update SessionSession 1A Jabra Enhance (formerly Lively Hearing Corporation) was created to address the cost and accessibility challenges associated with the existing model of hearing healthcare for adults at that time. Our innovative approach involved an entirely remote model of care to include testing, risk assessment, pre-programming, hearing aid delivery, audiologic consultation and counseling, remote post-fitting adjustments, and follow up care that attempted to emulate, as closely as technically possible, a traditional model of audiologic care. The results of that model consistently demonstrated successful client outcomes and high levels of satisfaction with the quality of our hearing aids and services.Following the FDA’s publication of their final rules establishing a new classification of over-the-counter (OTC) hearing aids, Jabra Enhance transitioned from a prescription to an OTC model of care. Given that the FDA prohibited the requirement for hearing testing or any best-practice professional service component as a condition of purchase, and given our success with our original prescription model of care, Jabra Enhance created a 2-tier model, both involving the same OTC models, where customers could select, at the time of purchase, a Basic level of direct-to-consumer product purchase without any professional support, or a Premium level modeled after our original hearing care concept that includes personalized professional remote care.In the 18 months since our transition to an OTC company, we have collected data that detail the differences between our Basic and Premium care customer journeys. In this presentation, we will compare their demographic characteristics, preferred points of purchase, uptake and retention rates, app utilization characteristics, outcomes, and the evolving roles of the hearing professional and customer service specialists.
Katie Keese, AuD: Dr. Katie Keese, AuD, CCC-A, is the Director of Audiology at Jabra Hearing, where she has been instrumental in the development and expansion of a fully remote teleaudiology platform. She earned her Doctorate in Audiology from the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center and has since gained extensive experience practicing in both the United States and Australia. Her professional background spans ENT clinics, hospitals, hearing aid manufacturing, retail chains, private practices, and providing mobile services to rural locations. Dr. Keese has also contributed as an expert in teleaudiology, serving on the ASHA Convention Telepractice Committee. Driven by a passion for improving access to affordable hearing healthcare, she has consistently placed patient-centered care at the heart of her work.
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