Experienced audiologists are a scarce resource that does not come cheap, but the demands on the quality of care are still the same, or even higher than before. Also, large retail companies that enter the hearing aid market expect high volume throughput of clients, at minimized staff cost, with maintained quality of service.

From the customer side, there are expectations that a clinic—no matter which—will provide high-quality examinations, accurate diagnoses, appropriate solutions, and proper fittings to help them improve their hearing and by that also their quality of life.

Adhering to best practices and remembering workflows is not a trivial task. A full audiometry session may involve a large number of steps, including questionnaires, pure tone audiometry, speech audiometry, tympanometry, and real-ear measurements. Each step includes numerous sub-steps and the results of these sub-steps may imply that additional tests should be performed. For example, during pure tone audiometry, a large hearing level difference between two adjacent frequencies on the same ear may indicate that inter-octave frequencies should be included. For an audiologist with limited experience juggling these options might be a daunting task, but also experienced audiologists may miss subtle details. In addition, for a large chain of clinics, it is of utmost importance to track any deviation from best practice, as well as maintain a consistent level of quality across the entire chain of clinics. This is where real-time quality assessment and user nudging turn out to be very useful.

Nobody likes to be told how to do their work, especially if they are trained professionals. In addition, technology should not dictate your work; it should be the other way around. This is where “nudging” comes into play: ç An example of a nudge is when you choose to stand on floor markings that indicate proper social distancing during the COVID-19 pandemic. A nudge is not an order, it is a recommendation; a smart tip that you could choose to consider.

Audiologists work in fast-paced environments and must deliver efficient, accurate diagnoses and excellent care consistently. Nudging helps by guiding audiologists through complex decisions, focusing more on the client and less on the workflow and process. Nudges help audiologists overcome suboptimal behaviours, to follow best practice workflows, optimize processes, become more efficient, and—ultimately—improve the quality of care.

The Measure Software offers the possibility to enable real-time quality assessment of measurements: While measurements are being performed, should certain user-defined conditions arise, a small notification is shown nudging the user to take proper action. The functionality is fully configurable by the user or administrator of the system. For example, certain frequencies can be made mandatory to check during a pure tone audiometry, inter-octave testing could be recommended if hearing levels indicate that it would be appropriate, or masking could be recommended if the system detects an asymmetrical binaural hearing loss. In other words, Measure helps improve the quality of care at each appointment, minimizes mistakes in testing, and allows clinics to optimize the testing process. This means the audiologists can spend more time with the customers on counselling, verification, fitting, and selling. 

Measure nudging is a friendly reminder during testing, aimed at helping the professional to take the correct action, adhere to best practices, and follow protocols.

There is a large number of possible tests and workflows during an audiometry session, and audiologists are expected both to follow protocol, work by best practices, and optimise the customer journey from first hearing screening to a properly fitted hearing aid. Software functionality that supports this process is invaluable for both audiologists, clinic owners, and managers.

• Highlighted audiometric nudging guides audiologists during examinations, ensure they follow best practice testing protocols, and don’t forget any steps in the process. This helps boost clinical quality in every hearing exam. 
• The data from Measure software is stored in the cloud and can be used for clinical auditing, which provides a comprehensive, accurate view of the business, including performance metrics for each clinic and audiologist. This allows clinic owners, managers, and heads of audiology to quickly identify and fix any non-compliance issues. 
• Real-time quality assessment and nudging can provide store owners and chief audiologists reassurance that all audiologists—regardless of experience and knowledge level—are providing the highest quality hearing examinations.