Emory Healthcare continually develops and innovates the care it provides. For home-based physical therapy providers, health systems are interested in learning how they can expand outpatient care services.
PROBLEM
Especially in the past few years, the COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the way Emory thinks about health care beyond the hospital and forced the health system to reimagine not only how it diagnoses patients but also how Non-surgical treatment.
“While we have several PT clinics in or near our regional offices for our musculoskeletal practice, we have a lot of patients who come to us from far away,” said Dr. Scott Boden. level of immobility for regular rehabilitation”. , chair of the department of orthopedic surgery at Emory University School of Medicine.
“For those patients, maybe Providing them with home care opportunities is one way to maintain continuity of care within the health system.
“In addition, many of our PT patients are now 65 years of age or older, and although distance can also be an issue, some of them may find that traveling causes them discomfort or adding to the pain they are trying to get treated at the clinic,” he continued. “Having an in-home PT provider allows the physical therapist to help improve the patient’s mobility in their own home environment – for example, helping the patient navigate stairs more efficiently” .
Considering these factors, having an in-home physical therapy option will allow Emory to provide flexibility for patients to continually improve their health outcomes.
PROPOSE
Today, many patients will seek care from other clinics, outside of their health system, primarily because drive times are shorter and they prefer convenience over continuity of travel. take care of.
“For health systems, this is called ‘referral leakage,'” Boden explains. “One of the ways health systems can try to avoid this is by adding new PT locations to expand their geographic reach. However, this may not be a realistic option for everyone.
“In the Luna provider model, they offer the ability to keep these patients in the system with a highly differentiated service – home care,” he continued. “This Home care will include physical therapists with expertise in many specialties, including orthopedics, neurology, geriatrics, vestibular and post-operative care, and the many different conditions for which they can Treatment includes ankle injuries, arthritis, knee pain, hip replacement and spinal fusion.”
Because Emory will certify therapists and provide treatment protocols as needed, the program will allow the health system to maintain quality and continuity of care, he added.
“Luna’s model also includes a way for us to improve the performance of our outpatient PT clinic by allowing more capacity for patients requiring in-clinic PT,” Boden said. “In turn, this will help reduce wait times at our busiest PT locations.”
MEETING THE CHALLENGE
Luna offers an in-house physical therapy program that allows Emory to ensure quality and utilize Emory’s clinical protocols when desired. It connects therapists who want to work extra hours with patients who want PT at home.
“Our clinicians offer this service to patients who feel they live too far away to regularly visit the clinic and to ensure continuity of care,” Boden explains. “The Luna app, which can be operated by providers and patients, is simple, intuitive, and easy to understand, and provides a great experience for patients and providers. In some ways, it’s like Uber for physical therapy.”
RESULT
Boden is excited to meet the needs of patients who would not otherwise have used Emory’s PT services due to geographic distance. Since the pandemic, the way people view and use their healthcare has changed dramatically. “Being able to meet the needs and provide better solutions for these patients is a huge accomplishment,” he said.
“In addition, Luna not only expands the scope of our ambulatory care services but also improves compliance with value-based care,” he noted. “By promoting patient health outcomes and helping control costs, Luna helps patients stay on their prescribed pathways and out of acute care facilities.
“After working with Luna for the past two years, patient satisfaction is very high and service complaints are few,” he reported.
ADVICE FOR OTHERS
It is important to avoid unhealthy competition between patients who will use PT in the clinic, but this can be managed based on protocols that Boden recommends that patients be offered physical therapy services at home.
“We offer it to patients who were referred for PT but did not make an in-person appointment, and patients who we know live too far away to regularly visit one of our PT offices,” he says. I”. “In addition, health systems may believe that hiring an in-house provider will result in lower service quality.
“However, it’s important to ensure you certify your therapists, so they provide the highest quality treatment plans for your patients,” he continues. “Second, health systems may feel they can provide PT themselves. More patients seek PT and expand your network with technology that provides PT at home, rather than building multiple locations more fixed, will likely have a positive impact on the patient care you can provide.”
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