JMIR Publications

ABSTRACT

Background:

Musculoskeletal (MSK) conditions affect more than one third of US adults2 and account for over $300B in total medical spend一more than any other chronic condition. Employers bear a disproportionate burden of these costs, both because they pay for the care of employees and their families with MSK conditions and because MSK pain is the second leading cause of workplace absenteeism resulting in approximately 290 million lost workdays annually.

Objective:

We sought to evaluate the effects of virtual physical therapy (vPT) integrated into advanced primary care on patient access, functional status, and cost.

Methods:

We performed a retrospective analysis of participants (>13 years old) receiving vPT integrated with primary care compared to a risk-adjusted, national matched cohort of patients receiving in person PT.

Results:

We evaluated 1563 participants with the following demographics: average age 42.8 years, 40% female, 68% White, 22% Asian. At presentation, their primary MSK issue was pain of the shoulder (14.2%), knee (12.9%), and low back (11.8%). On average, time to vPT appointment was 7.6 days. On average, vPT patients achieved better functional status than controls. On average, vPT patients required 5.4 visits to achieve symptom resolution, compared to 6.5 visits for controls (a 17% reduction). This resulted in $193 to $1411 in savings per injury per patient.

Conclusions:

Given that participants in virtual PT integrated in primary care were able to achieve recovery of their MSK issues in fewer visits and with greater functional improvement than controls, this model should be tested more extensively. It holds considerable promise for addressing the escalating MSK costs of the US adult population.