One way to provide exceptional patient experiences in physical therapy clinics is to use interactive
One way to provide exceptional patient experiences in physical therapy clinics is to use interactive technology.
There are many interactive patient care technologies that use real-time information to engage patients and provide them with better service and information. This technology brings an extraordinary range of services and control to the patients’ fingertips. Technology can be a great tool to incorporate throughout the course of patient treatment. A mobile home exercise program (HEP) is one way to increase patient compliance with prescribed home exercise programs.
But simply having a digital HEP won’t keep patients in compliance. The mobile application must be one that will make patients more invested in and engaged with their treatment, which means one with a format that makes it easy for patients to stick to their HEPs, such as mobile-friendly exercise charts and easy-to-follow videos that patients can access any time, anywhere. In addition, patients have no reason to fail to comply with prescribed exercises that are easily accessible by mobile app.
With digital HEP, patients have comprehensive instructions available, removing the need for them to call the clinic for additional clarification. Clinics that make use of interactive technology are realizing tangible benefits, which translate into significant improvements in patient compliance and greater patient engagement, making the patient experience an outstanding one.
Among all the HEP apps out there, Pt Pal Pro gives the user the ability to see the exercises that the physical therapist recommends. Each of the exercises has a video demonstration and written description that includes an explanation of the benefit of each exercise. The app provides reminders for those who need them and allows the patient’s progress to be monitored by the physical therapist. Pt Pal, a user-friendly app, allows patients to send feedback to the therapist during the exercise.
What does Pt Pal do, exactly? First, it sends the HEP to your patient’s smartphone. It does all the tracking for the patient, sends little reminders to do the exercises, and gives both verbal and visual instructions on performing the exercises. An active internet connection is not necessary. The patient can also log the level of difficulty and pain for each exercise. The app keeps a record of how the patient is performing with the HEP. The therapist can review the patient’s performance before the next treatment session.
How does it work for the clinician? Just point and click to add exercises from the clinician’s web portal. You can search through the library of exercises and create favorite exercise programs. There are ways you can add your own exercises, too.
This app gives the therapist the tools to identify patients who are having difficulties with their exercises and bring them in for more instruction. When a patient follows the plan of care, this might reduce the number of visits in the clinic. Data from this app will be useful to show the insurance company for therapy justification. In fact, with insurance companies asking for more justification that what we’re doing is working, I think that this kind of technology may well become a requirement.
Olajide Kolawole, PT, PhD, is the owner of Kebe Cares Physical Therapy. He can be reached at ola@kebecaresphysicaltherapy.com.