Musculoskeletal (MSK) pain is one of the most common diseases, affecting bones, joints, ligaments, tendons, or muscles in the back and buttocks. It may also be a large part of the employer’s medical expenses. Every year, one in two adults have MSK problems, and the annual cost of treatment, care, and lost wages for these diseases is estimated at US$213 billion.
Recognizing the opportunity to use innovation to solve this problem, Kio Developed a digital MSK treatment solution that combines advanced software and evidence-based guidelines to treat and prevent back, knee, neck, and hip pain. Kiio enables health plans and employers to provide their members with an instant and convenient way to relieve their pain, increase flexibility, and reduce unnecessary health care use.
Lydia Zeller, CEO of Kiio
Kiio cooperates with WEA Trust to provide members with simple, convenient and evidence-based digital musculoskeletal (MSK) treatment and care to help members suffering from back pain.
For WEA Trust, low back pain is a driving factor in the medical utilization and cost of most of its plans, and has a significant impact on employment costs and productivity.
Kiio’s client and investor WEA Trust is an independent non-profit health insurance company in Wisconsin that provides group health insurance and administrative services to public employers. It has 110,000 plan members. Back pain is a driving factor in the medical utilization and cost of most of their plans, and has a significant additional impact on employment costs and productivity.
WEA Trust hopes to provide easy-to-use, evidence-based digital treatment benefits for members who are struggling with low back pain. The white-labeled Kiio product WEA Trust Low Back Pain Program uses a mobile application to conveniently provide its members with personalized exercise therapy, education and support.
Research overview
To assess Kiio’s ability to achieve better results at a lower cost, an independent longitudinal study compared the WEA Trust claims of 656 Kiio participants with 23,709 controls who received traditional MSK for low back pain. In the Kiio group, claims 12 months after the Kiio registration date are evaluated. In the control group receiving traditional care, claims for 12 months were evaluated from the first claim for low back pain. Then normalize all the data to the month of membership.
Before joining Kiio, participants went through a screening process to collect baseline data and determine medical appropriateness.As part of Kiio’s customized care path optimization, WEA members who are not eligible for participation due to medical or other reasons are directed to appropriate in-network careSM.
Eligible members can immediately access Kiio’s WEA Low Back Pain Program. The program includes three progressive levels of therapeutic exercises, pain education, virtual counseling, and unlimited access to 1:1 nursing team support for members’ low back pain types.
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The most striking finding of the study was that the Kiio group’s total medical and drug expenditures were reduced by 62%, the use of opioids was reduced by 89%, the use of benzodiazepines was reduced by 74%, and the use was significantly reduced. NS Urgent care services, diagnosis and procedures.
Given the link between chronic pain and mental health, the study also evaluated the use of antidepressants. The consumption of antidepressants among Kiio participants was 51% lower than that of WEA Trust members who did not participate in Kiio.
Kiio participants also benefited from improved clinical outcomes. Based on self-report survey data collected in the app, 89% of members who use Kiio report pain reduction and 76% report functional improvement. Kiio participants experienced an average reduction in pain of 48%. In terms of ability to perform daily tasks, the Kiio group improved an average of 46%.
As a reference, Kiio uses the NRS pain scale as its baseline for pain reduction calculations. It uses the PSFS scale to calculate functional improvement from baseline. The scale tracks the level of difficulty of executive function activities perceived by members, which members believe are personally related and negatively affected by pain.
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Tim Bartholow, MD, vice president and chief medical officer of WEA Trust, said that Kio’s platform proved its courage during the Covid-19 pandemic, encouraging patients to stay away from the hospital as much as possible.
“As Covid intensifies mental health challenges and causes members to postpone appointments, Kiio’s effective pain management is vital not only to physical health but also to mental health. Through Kiio, we can help members reduce pain and improve quality of life, while reducing The cost of employer partners.”
An important advantage of Kiio’s MSK pain management and prevention method is that, as with most successful treatments, to ensure the best results, patients always remain motivated and adhere to treatment. Kiio’s app appeals to individuals, provides guidance to keep encouragement and progress tracking to see their improvements.
Lisa Harlow, director of health services for WEA Trust members, observed that Kiio’s accessibility solutions are tailored to the individual needs and circumstances of each member.
“Our members like flexibility and they sit in the driver’s seat. Our team likes Kiio’s evidence-based approach and how Kiio combines clinical practice guidelines with technology to customize therapeutic exercises, monitor improvements, provide guidance and Report progress.”
To learn more about Kiio’s simple, easy and effective digital MSK therapy, Click this link. And follow Kiio on LinkedIn to get the latest news from Kiio.
Photo: Boy video, Getty Images
