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Study Spotlight: Telehealth Earns Positive Reviews During Pandemic

Recent study finds high levels of satisfaction with telehealth among outpatient therapy patients.

In a recent article published in the American Journal of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation, Tenforde et al reviewed findings from a survey of 211 study participants who received a telehealth visit for lower limb injuries, pediatric neurology, or primary impairments in sports during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Intended to gather “measures of experience with a therapist” including physical therapists (PTs), occupational therapists (OTs), and speech language pathologists (SLPs), the 16-item survey covered seven focus areas: addressing concerns and questions, therapist communication, treatment plan development, treatment plan execution, convenience, overall satisfaction and perceived value of a future telehealth visit.

More than half of the visits examined (53%) were with a PT, and the overall findings showed that over 90% of participants selected “excellent” or “good” when rating having their concerns addressed, communication with their therapist, treatment plan development and execution, convenience and overall satisfaction. About 87 of respondents replied with “excellent” or “good” when asked about the perceived value of having a future telehealth visit.

As a provider of telerehab services since 2017, MedRisk supports the authors’ commentary that high patient satisfaction scores across age, gender and condition point to the value telerehabilitation can provide, such as reduced travel time and convenience, beyond the public health emergency.

To read the complete article, click here.

Tenforde, Adam S. MD; Borgstrom, Haylee MD, MS; Polich, Ginger MD; Steere, Hannah MD; Davis, Irene S. PhD, PT; Cotton, Kester PT; O’Donnell, Mary MS, OTR/L; Silver, Julie K. MD Outpatient Physical, Occupational, and Speech Therapy Synchronous Telemedicine, American Journal of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation: November 2020 – Volume 99 – Issue 11 – p 977-981 doi: 10.1097/PHM.0000000000001571

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