Patient Preferences for Telerehabilitation Compared to In-Person Physiotherapy: A Binary Discrete Choice Experiment.
Megan H Ross, Joshua Simmich, Thomas Magor and 1 others
PMID 40008766WHAT IT FOUND
Patients strongly prefer physiotherapy that is nearby, cheap, and available within a day.
They generally choose in-person care over telerehabilitation, though this preference is uncertain. Patients with one chronic condition or living in outer regional areas were less likely to choose telerehabilitation.
Key findings
01Participants indicated an overall preference for in-person consultations, but the evidence is uncertain.
02The most preferred consultation features are availability within 1 day, travel distance within 5 km, and a cost of AUD$50.
03Respondents living in outer regional areas and those with one chronic health condition showed a statistically significant disutility for telerehabilitation.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTs
Read the rest of this summary
You get three full summaries a month, free, and we do not ask for a card. Search, the TL;DRs and your library stay unlimited either way.
What it does not show
The sample size (152) was smaller than many similar studies, leading to wide confidence intervals and uncertain results. Participants were predominantly young (average age 38.6), female (76%), and comfortable with technology, so findings may not apply to older or less tech-savvy patients. The study measured stated preferences in hypothetical scenarios, which may not reflect actual real-world choices. Only patients who had previously seen a physiotherapist were included, excluding those who have never sought care.
Declared interests
The authors declare no conflicts of interest.
The easy way to misread this
Do not assume that patients reject telerehabilitation because of its remote nature. The data suggests that patients with one chronic condition or those in outer regional areas were less likely to choose it, but the overall preference for in-person care was not statistically definitive.