Continuing physical therapy and rehabilitation for home-bound patients
Dan Bloom, WizeCare, writes about how its platform can be used to continue rehabilitation and physical therapy from home.
We are all now living during unprecedented times, part of a historical fabric that is redefining physical therapy and rehabilitation practices and the larger world as we know it.
These are not easy times for patients & clinicians.
Concerns about health and safety in the face of the coronavirus pandemic have seen many clinics transform from traditional operations to telehealth providers.
After years of false starts and slow adoption, telemedicine is finally going mainstream.
Across the United States and beyond, there’s an order to expand access to telehealth services and protect healthcare providers. The most important provision states that all commercial insurers, self-insured plans, and the Group Insurance Commission (GIC) must cover medically necessary telehealth services. (The GIC administers health insurance and benefits for state employees and retirees.) The order specifies that all payers in the state “are required to allow all in-network providers to deliver clinically appropriate, medically necessary covered services to members via telehealth.”
Late last month, UnitedHealthcare, for example, a managed health care company in the USA, announced that it will reimburse physical, occupational and speech therapy telehealth services provided by qualified health care professionals when rendered using interactive audio/video technology.
In the USA, therapists can also bill Medicare for e-visits.
In essence, this is a watershed moment for med-tech. Finally, after years of waiting, leading health care insurance companies will now cover telehealth-delivered care and e-visits for physical therapy as well as occupational therapy and speech therapy.
A handful of telehealth solution providers with innovative tech stand ready to aid clinicians and patients in the transition.
Roy Shteren and the team at WizeCare have found a way.
Shteren is a physical therapist and co-founder at www.wizecare.com. His WizeCare platform is being used by physical and rehabilitative therapists to continue therapy with home-bound patients, not just in the U.S. but in other countries as well.
Despite this coronavirus crisis, Shteren and his team have found a way to keep therapy going, and the tech is having a positive impact on the health of patients. It's also designed to keep clinics running and therapists employed.
WizeCare enables clinicians and healthcare organisations to deliver intelligent, accessible, and exciting physical therapy sessions directly to patients’ homes, while ensuring a measurable, affordable, and standardised quality of care.
The tech, extremely relevant to the current situation, is readily available and physical therapists and other types of clinicians can continue to provide treatment without delay. The WizeCare solution was recently proven through multiple clinical studies at prestigious institutions, such as America's leading medical institution, The Cleveland Clinic, and at Meuhedet, one of Israel's top healthcare groups.
It's during times like these that we see the true nature of our community. Although the current situation has posed new, unique challenges, tech and innovation, as usual, will see us through. May this article find you well and provide you with some additional optimism for a better tomorrow. Wishing good health and a speedy recovery to all those coping with the current crisis.