If You Build It, Will They Come? Patient and Provider Use of a Novel Hybrid Telehealth Care Pathway for Low Back Pain.
Trevor A Lentz, Cynthia J Coffman, Tyler Cope and 7 others
PMID 37756618WHAT IT FOUND
Referral rates for this hybrid low back pain pathway varied widely across clinics, ranging from 37.8% to 72.1% of those referred enrolling.
In-person site visits significantly increased referrals, while most patients preferred telephone over video for telehealth components.
Key findings
01Referral-to-enrollment rates varied substantially across the five clinics, ranging from 37.8% to 72.1%.
02In-person site visits resulted in a 440% increase in referrals from three months prior to three months after the visits.
03Nearly all telehealth visits for physical activity and psychologically informed practice occurred by telephone rather than videoconference.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTs
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What it does not show
The study was conducted within the Veterans Health Administration, so results may not generalize to other health systems or patient populations. The analysis is descriptive and does not evaluate clinical outcomes or effectiveness of the pathway. Reasons for dropout or non-completion were not systematically tracked. The program was implemented during the COVID-19 pandemic, which may have influenced care delivery and patient preferences. Referral rates were low overall, with less than 10% of eligible clinic visits resulting in a referral.
Declared interests
The study was funded by the National Institutes of Health and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. The funders played no role in the conduct or reporting of the study.
The easy way to misread this
Do not interpret the high rate of pain modulation intervention use or the increase in referrals after site visits as evidence that the pathway is effective or scalable. This study reports on process metrics and implementation challenges, not patient outcomes.