Effectiveness of telehealth physical therapy for patients with pelvic floor disorders in a community hospital setting.

Abstract

PURPOSE:

To examine whether there are differences in meeting treatment goals between pelvic floor physical therapy (PFPT) patients who participated in a majority of telehealth visits versus those who participated in mostly traditional office visits at a community hospital.

METHODS:

Retrospective chart review was performed among patients who received PFPT from April 2019 to February 2021. Cohorts were defined as "Mostly Office Visits" (> 50% office visits) and "Mostly Telehealth" (> / = 50% telehealth visits). Primary outcome measures included demographic data, number/type of visit for each patient, number of no-show/cancelation appointments, and number of patients discharged meeting PFPT goals. Statistical significance was defined as p < 0.05.

RESULTS:

234 subjects met criteria for the "Mostly Office Visit" cohort and 48 subjects met criteria for the "Mostly Telehealth" cohort. There were no significant differences observed in age (p = 0.919), BMI (p = 0.817), race/ethnicity (p = 0.170) or insurance type (p = 0.426) between cohorts. There was no significant difference in meeting PFPT goals between the "Mostly Office Visit" cohort (24.4%) and the "Mostly Telehealth" cohort (35.4%) (p = 0.113). There was no difference in the number of canceled visits per patient (mean cancelations "Office visit" 1.98; "Telehealth" 1.63; p = 0.246) and the number of no-show visits per patient (mean no-show's "Office visit" 0.23; "Telehealth" 0.31; p = 0.297) between cohorts.

CONCLUSION:

There was no difference in meeting discharge goals regardless of whether a patient participated in mostly telehealth visits versus mostly traditional office visits. Therefore, we can conclude that participating in mostly provider-led telehealth visits can be equally efficacious at providing competent PFPT care.

• Authors: Brady Coad, Sangeeta Ramani, Lindsey Michel, Amanda Peled, Jennifer Morgan, Josette Hartnett, Scott Chudnoff, Vaagn Andikyan
• Journal: Archives of gynecology and obstetrics (Arch Gynecol Obstet) Vol. 308 Issue 2 Pg. 661-665 (08 2023) ISSN: 1432-0711 [Electronic] Germany
• PMID: 37268794 (Publication Type: Journal Article)
• Copyright: © 2023. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.

Topics

• Female
• Humans
• Pelvic Floor Disorders (therapy)
• Retrospective Studies
• Hospitals, Community
• Physical Therapy Modalities
• Telemedicine