3 Reasons a Hybrid Model of Telehealth Physical Therapy Works

Revolutionizing Physical Therapy

Force Therapeutics has recently partnered with Luna Physical Therapy, pioneering the path for innovative and on-demand physical therapy, which will revolutionize how patients receive PT. Access to education and physical therapy is crucial in ensuring the best patient outcomes. In fact, patients utilizing telehealth physical therapy are less likely to return to a hospital or urgent care after their procedure due to chronic pain or other implications. Oftentimes, patients miss out on the critical benefits of physical therapy due to impediments such as referral gaps and travel. To combat this ongoing challenge, Force and Luna have found a hybrid-model solution which delivers individualized in-person and digital PT, as well as education to patients in a manner that works best for them.

Here are three reasons why a hybrid model of telehealth physical therapy in musculoskeletal practices works:

1. Patient-Centric Care

What does the hybrid model process look like? The health system’s care teams work to assess the patients’ needs and evaluates patient data to develop a personalized care plan for each individual’s post-surgical recovery. At this point, those care plans and data are shared with Luna PT to then administer care at home as preferred by the patient.

With this hybrid model, healthcare systems retain the patients, and can ensure that patients see their recovery through to the end of the episode. Patients do not feel like the need to search for a new provider because they are empowered with the information and resources they need for their recovery. They can access prescribed care in a way that’s unique to them, which gives patients an active role in their own recovery.

Force’s clinically-validated program for MSK digital physical therapy is powered by hundreds of thousands of collected data-points. This is why we are able to build personalized journeys for patients, and one of the many reasons why the partnership with Luna has been so seamless. The model’s structure for care flexibility around improving patient engagement strategies and experience directly correlates to vastly improved recovery statistics.

2. Immediately Provide a Higher Quality of Care

Throughout the recovery journey, patients will routinely receive notifications to update their care team about their pain levels and other important PROs. These forms are set up through a set of protocols, and if there are alarming responses or warnings of complications, these issues can be addressed immediately, rather than losing the patient to any other provider.

Collecting historical data points will likely identify care gaps within physical therapy practices, and can lead to fundamental program improvements to provide the highest quality of care. In the era where consumerism has collided with healthcare, physical therapy organizations, such as Luna PT, that are able to demonstrate a high-quality of care by elevating their programs with digital tools and platforms, will likely stand out in a crowded competitive landscape, and increase their opportunity to become a Center of Excellence site.

3. Lower Costs and Increases Time Efficiency

This hybrid model of telehealth physical therapy is designed to optimize patient participation in physical therapy by offering patients a customizable care plan that caters to patients’ specific circumstances; Patients gain the freedom to engage in PT on their own terms, whether that be at-home, in-office, or both.

This reimagined care plan will ultimately solve problems for all parties involved:

• It will reduce unnecessary costs for patients such as post-op hospitalization and save travel expenses and time.
• Providers are given back more time to focus on high-risk patients without having to hire additional staff members.
• Administrators are able to demonstrate an immediate opportunity for cost savings and operational efficacy.

"Allowing patients to access that online is the way things are going with everything in medicine, whether it’s outpatient surgery or outpatient PT -- things that you can do online versus things that you have to travel for (or stay in a hospital for) are not only great for patient experience but really improves the value equation because it’s cheaper; it’s easier to do and patients are more compliant because they can access it easier." -Dr. Macy Orthopedic Surgeon and Chairman of Orthopedics at Copley Hospital

Interested in how your organization can leverage the Force + Luna’s hybrid-model solution? Book a demo.