Speech Impairment Analysis
One of the ways in which text to speech technology (TTS) has created an impact towards adding an extra dimension to the usual reading practice is by allowing the physically challenged to be immersed in the online environment. The advent of social connectivity and the diversity of new technologies that bring people together have reached the realm of healthcare. Among the technologies that have been adapted by he healthcare sector is TTS, which is viewed as a potential remedy for speech-impairment. However, healthcare insurance companies are not always accommodating to assistive technologies proliferated in more widely popular platforms. Although TTS had become an integral part of any device with assistive functions, its availability in mobile
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The issue was described as a resistance by the healthcare sector to technological changes in favor of the companies that manufacture TTS-enabled speech-impairment devices labeled as medical devices. However, the consumers’ sentiments over the said TTS-enabled medical devices involves extremely high cost and limited functionality, which mobile devices such as iPhone and Android smartphones can also provide at a relatively lower price and more.
“DynaVox, a leading maker of devices for the speech-impaired, has computers that start at $8,000 and run Windows, just like 90 percent of all PCs. To meet insurance rules, DynaVox disables the general computing tools. After the insurer pays, customers can pay $50 to DynaVox to reactivate the full functions”. – …show more content…
In a statement, Vance recalls, “after being dismayed by the PC’s limitations and clunky design, Ms. Lynn turned to a $300 iPhone 3G from Apple running $150 text-to-speech software. Ms. Lynn, who is 48 and lives in Poughkeepsie, N.Y., said it worked better and let her “wear her voice” around her neck while snuggling with her 5-year-old son, Aiden, who has Down syndrome”.
There is a simple logic that clarifies the question of why medical insurance would not cover smartphones and regular PCs as medical device for speech impairment, simply because the said devices was not initially made for medical purposes and can be used for means other than medically prescribed.
In a statement from a health insurance executive, “we would not cover the iPhones and netbooks with speech-generating software capabilities because they are useful in the absence of an illness or injury,” said Peter Ashkenaz, a spokesman for the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. Private insurers tend to follow the government’s lead in matters of coverage. Two years ago, iPhones and netbooks barely existed, so it may not be surprising that the industry has yet to consider their role as medical devices”. –
The issue was described as a resistance by the healthcare sector to technological changes in favor of the companies that manufacture TTS-enabled speech-impairment devices labeled as medical devices. However, the consumers’ sentiments over the said TTS-enabled medical devices involves extremely high cost and limited functionality, which mobile devices such as iPhone and Android smartphones can also provide at a relatively lower price and more.
“DynaVox, a leading maker of devices for the speech-impaired, has computers that start at $8,000 and run Windows, just like 90 percent of all PCs. To meet insurance rules, DynaVox disables the general computing tools. After the insurer pays, customers can pay $50 to DynaVox to reactivate the full functions”. – …show more content…
In a statement, Vance recalls, “after being dismayed by the PC’s limitations and clunky design, Ms. Lynn turned to a $300 iPhone 3G from Apple running $150 text-to-speech software. Ms. Lynn, who is 48 and lives in Poughkeepsie, N.Y., said it worked better and let her “wear her voice” around her neck while snuggling with her 5-year-old son, Aiden, who has Down syndrome”.
There is a simple logic that clarifies the question of why medical insurance would not cover smartphones and regular PCs as medical device for speech impairment, simply because the said devices was not initially made for medical purposes and can be used for means other than medically prescribed.
In a statement from a health insurance executive, “we would not cover the iPhones and netbooks with speech-generating software capabilities because they are useful in the absence of an illness or injury,” said Peter Ashkenaz, a spokesman for the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. Private insurers tend to follow the government’s lead in matters of coverage. Two years ago, iPhones and netbooks barely existed, so it may not be surprising that the industry has yet to consider their role as medical devices”. –