Does Telehealth Have A Place In Physical Therapy?

The COVID-19 pandemic has had a tremendous impact on healthcare. As intensive care units filled with COVID patients, the population put non-emergent care – such as wellness checks and physical therapy –on the back burner. Many providers turned to telehealth in order to provide care while minimizing risk and maximizing safety.

With vaccine access returning us to a state resembling normalcy, telehealth is still relevant for today’s physical therapist. Although some patients and physical therapists may tend to see remote PT as counterintuitive for such “hands-on” therapy, PT via telehealth can be effective and achievable with minimal cost to the provider.

Trends in Telehealth PT

The American Physical Therapy Association (APTA) is a strong proponent of telehealth in physical therapy. The group encourages physical therapists to use their best judgment when working with patients through telehealth, including recognizing when to see a patient face-to-face.

Many clinicians have begun offering initial visits via telehealth. This practice is useful when the first session will be more of a “getting to know you” visit rather than actual therapy. When time and distance are barriers, it may make sense to conduct the initial visit virtually.

Another trend to consider is nonreal-time therapy. In other words, telehealth PT does not always have to be delivered live. You may find it helpful to record video instructions for a patient to view and review at their convenience.

Data security is necessarily a huge factor in the delivery of any sort of telehealth. Interacting with a patient virtually does not absolve clinicians of their HIPAA and privacy responsibilities. They’ll need to ensure that any apps or software being used meets the legal requirements for encryption and security.

A final trend concerns reaching more patients through telehealth than is possible in person. If you are a compact privilege holder, you may provide PT services to a patient in a remote state through telehealth. This practice can allow you to gain patients from beyond your local region. Be sure to check the telehealth rules in both your state and the patient’s state to ensure you’re in compliance.

Payment

Reimbursement discussions around physical therapy and Telehealth are constantly changing and vary from insurance plan to insurance plan. If you plan on implementing Telehealth, check with the individual insurance company to understand payment rules and regulations to ensure you are compliant with their standards.

In Conclusion

Whether to avoid potential exposures during a pandemic or simply for patient convenience, telehealth PT can be useful and practical for patients and physical therapists alike. A lot of practices already have the infrastructure in place to establish telehealth services, but offering telehealth does require due diligence. Check the APTA’s recommendations and state regulations and you’ll be well on your way to serving your patients remotely.

References

Lee, A. C., & Harada, N. (2012). Telehealth as a Means of Health Care Delivery for Physical Therapist Practice. Physical Therapy, 92(3), 463–468. https://doi.org/10.2522/ptj.2011010 0

Position on Telehealth. APTA. (2019, September 20). https://www.apta.org/apta-andyou/leadership-andgovernance/policies/telehealth.

Telehealth in Physical Therapy in Light of COVID-19. APTA. (2020, March 16). https://www.apta.org/news/2020/03/ 16/telehealth-in-physical-therapy-inlight-of-covid-19.

Telehealth in Practice. APTA. (n.d.). https://www.apta.org/yourpractice/practice-models-andsettings/telehealth-practice.