The Effect of Mobile Care Delivery on Clinically Meaningful Outcomes, Satisfaction, and Engagement Among Physical Therapy Patients: Observational Retrospective Study.
Lauren Beresford, Todd Norwood
PMID 35107436WHAT IT FOUND
In app-based physical therapy, more weekly workouts were associated with meaningful pain improvement.
Longer program time was associated with meaningful function improvement. More provider video visits and faster access were associated with more workouts.
Key findings
01In the analysis of 814 app-based physical therapy participants, each additional weekly workout was associated with 1.13 times higher odds of a clinically important pain improvement.
02Each additional week in the program was associated with a 4% increase in the odds of a clinically important function improvement.
03Participants who had 1 to 2 or 3 to 4 follow-up video visits completed 16% or 32% more weekly workouts than those with none, and participants seen within 24 hours completed 14% more weekly workouts.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTs
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What it does not show
This was an observational study without a control group, so it shows associations rather than proof that the app caused outcomes. The sample came from privately insured employees who registered for an employer-based program, so results may not apply to other patients. The final survey was voluntary and not reminded, and 33 pain and function observations were carried forward while 32 satisfaction values were imputed. 128 outlier observations were removed, and 36 participants with too little activity were excluded. Participants who needed in-person referral for symptoms such as fractures or stroke were excluded. Access and provider communication were not directly associated with clinically important pain or function improvements.
Declared interests
LB and TN are employed shareholders of Omada Health Inc. The program was offered as an employer health benefit with no cost or copay to privately insured employees.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read these associations as proof that app-based physical therapy causes better outcomes. The program included exercise, education, chat, and video visits together, so the contribution of any single component cannot be separated. This was an observational retrospective study without a control group, and access or communication were not directly associated with clinically important pain or function changes.