Tech & Innovation in Healthcare

Only 12 percent of patients move forward with prescribed PT.

Patients rehabilitating musculoskeletal (MSK) injuries can face a long road to recovery. Now, on-demand virtual platforms and apps allow providers to track their patients’ physical therapy (PT) progress and evaluate the efficacy of therapeutic interventions.

Learn how providers can benefit from remote PT offerings for their patients.

Deliver Real-Time Feedback to PT Patients at Home

Part of rehabilitation often involves multiple sessions of in-person PT to help the patient build strength, develop mobility, reduce or eliminate pain, and improve their balance. Physicians and therapists can provide directions to ensure the patients are performing the exercises correctly and educate the patient on their condition. But what happens when the patient leaves the clinic and returns home?

“For best results when utilizing PT, it is important to make sure that patients are compliant and following through with not only getting to therapy, but also their home exercise program,” says Shariff K. Bishai, DO, MS, FAOAO, FAAOS, FAANA, orthopedic surgeon, shoulder and sports medicine, at Associated Orthopedists of Detroit, PC in St. Clair Shores, Michigan.

Nevertheless, providers cite several challenges with in-person PT that hinder their patients’ recovery progress. These challenges include:

• Time: Taking time off work, being absent from schooling, or being away from family can deter some patients.
• Travel: Some patients have difficulty traveling to the PT clinic due to the distance or a lack of transportation.
• Cost: Payers may not cover PT and the patient may not feel able to afford the copayment or deductible.

Due to these limitations, “only about 12 percent of patients prescribed PT proceed with the treatment, and of those, only 30 percent complete the prescribed care,” says Marc Gruner, DO, MBA, RMSK, board-certified sports medicine physician and chief medical officer of Limber Health in Washington, D.C.

Remotely Solve the Challenges of In-Person PT

Telehealth PT, also referred to as at-home, virtual, or remote PT, allows providers to remain engaged with their patient’s care outside of a traditional facility. While the patient may feel like they’re exercising while a popular, on-demand fitness program plays, that’s not necessarily the case.

One remote PT option includes a physical therapist examining the patient’s movements and providing feedback in real-time on a video call. The therapist’s contact with the patient is ideal for ensuring the patient is performing the exercises correctly to promote progress and not cause further injury. “The ability to have the therapist be able to correspond with the patient is invaluable,” Dr. Bishai adds.

On the other hand, if the patient knows the exercises well and doesn’t need real-time feedback, the provider can simply monitor the data of the patient’s progress to ensure they’re complying with the program. These patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) allow the providers to evaluate the patient’s progress and the efficacy of the exercises. By reviewing the PROMs, the therapist can further individualize the patient’s physical therapy treatment based on their recovery progress.

Physical therapists also have the option to create a hybrid approach to PT. The hybrid model allows providers to see patients in the office for physical examinations, education, and discussions of the patient’s progress, while also permitting the patient to use virtual PT, either through video calls or an app, to perform exercises and track their progress from home.

Help Patients Limber Up With Virtual PT Care

Research conducted at Mayo Clinic between January and May 2020 explored the effectiveness of virtual PT on patients with MSK pain. The single-blind, randomized controlled trial (RCT) compared the results of a digital exercise therapy application (DETA) against traditional in-person PT for patients with nonoperative knee conditions. During the eight-week study, the DETA program showed “greater increases in physical function and decreases in pain interference” when compared to conventional PT (www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2590109521000616?via=ihub#bib0015).

Limber Health developed the application used in the study, but multiple digital platforms also exist on the market to provide options for rehabilitation, injury prevention, and acute or chronic pain relief. With platforms like Limber Health’s program, patients can experience better access to care at home, which allows them to perform the exercises more frequently. In turn, providers can see better adherence to the prescribed PT program and greater results.