Cigna A virtual physical therapy program for patients with musculoskeletal disorders will be offered to its group of Medicare Advantage members located in Northern Mississippi, Virginia and Northern Georgia.
The company that makes the virtual PT platform — Walnut Creek-based RecoveryOne — announced Monday that it will be offered as an in-network benefit. The announcement highlights how payers are adopting digital tools to manage conditions that previously required in-person visits in the hopes of reducing costs and increasing convenience for patients.
“Virtual physical therapy makes therapy accessible to all seniors, including those living in rural areas. It eliminates the need to travel, allowing therapy to be administered at a time and place that is most convenient for clients,” said Christine Leo, senior vice president of product at Cigna said in an email. “We hope this convenience will improve adherence to treatment, leading to better outcomes and allowing clients to live healthier, more active lives.”
Cigna has a partnership with RecoveryOne as its venture capital arm invested in the company back in January 2020. The RecoveryOne tool is also currently available to Cigna’s employer clients with fewer than 500 employees.The announcement comes amid mounting evidence that Virtual PT is valid.
January 2022, published by Kinex Medical a report That said, 87% of surgeons believe telerehabilitation is the future of recovery from musculoskeletal disorders.Many companies participate in the virtual PT world, including Kaia Health, Limber Health and reflex health.
In addition to the convenience factor that can help improve patient compliance, RecoveryOne’s platform provides flexibility.
“RecoveryOne provides clients with a good continuum of care from initial to intermediate to final treatment, led by a licensed therapist who prescribes and adjusts the plan as needed so that the client achieves the desired outcome in the most clinically appropriate way,” Leo said.
Virtual PT offers a range of benefits. Patients in rural areas have easier access to care. Flexibility in when to exercise helps accommodate the patient’s schedule. In addition, virtual PT can help patients receive care even when there is a shortage of physical therapists.
Furthermore, virtual physiotherapy platforms can address some of the current problems, such as providing a feasible way to monitor patient recovery and provide cost-effective treatment.
“As TKA procedures surge and care sites continue to shift to outpatient clinics, we will continue to see increased demand for telerehabilitation,” Kinex Medical President Mike Buckholdt said in a Kinex press release. “Care providers need a way to monitor and manage the patient recovery process in a cost-effective, clinically equivalent way. Novel post-operative recovery devices enable providers, patients and payers to find new ways to do so at a lower cost Delivering unparalleled quality and a first-class patient experience.”
RecoveryOne believes its virtual rehabilitation has achieved quality of care, improved patient experience and reduced costs. According to RecoveryOne’s announcement, it has analyzed claims data from more than 350,000 members and has successfully reduced total medical costs per member by $751 per month for MSK-related diagnoses.In addition, the analysis found restore one The cost of low back pain was reduced by nearly 77%, and the cost of rotator cuff tears was reduced by 84%.
In the U.S., nearly 75 percent of adults age 65 and older are affected by musculoskeletal disorders, ranging from spinal osteoarthritis to fall-related injuries to hip and knee problems. According to one data, between 1996 and 2016, public insurance such as Medicare spent more than $45 billion on MSK issues for neck and lower back pain alone. Report.
“Our solutions cover most MSK situations from head to toe and have over eight years of experience working with older populations,” said RecoveryOne CEO Mark Luck Olson in the announcement. “As such, this solution is uniquely qualified to address some of the most common and complex conditions, including total joint surgery, fall fractures and low back pain, the most onerous of all MSK conditions.”
Credit: Vitapix, Getty Images
