UT Health East Texas has partnered with TheraNow to provide telemedicine and remote physical therapy and rehabilitation treatment to patients throughout East Texas.
Through this partnership, UT Health East Texas provides at-home physical therapy and rehabilitation services to patients using TheraNow's remote telehealth/telerehab platform. This technology allows recovering patients to manage appointments for therapy sessions at home under the guidance of their physician or therapist. Each patient receives personalized, prescribed one-on-one video therapy sessions with licensed therapists using their laptop or mobile device. The app monitors the patient's progress with outcome tracking that helps the therapist build an effective progressive rehabilitation program.
Vicki Briggs, CEO at UT Health Tyler, said she is pleased that the technology has been adopted in orthopedic and rehabilitation clinics. “When I was initially introduced to TheraNow, I was very impressed with the capabilities to help patients prepare for joint replacement surgery to optimize their outcome and the opportunity to have post-procedure therapy at home through the telehealth platform.”
Briggs was able to experience the platform personally after undergoing a hip replacement surgery of her own.
“I completed all of my physical therapy in the comfort and privacy of my home by connecting with the therapist on my iPhone. He was able to instruct me on how to perform the exercises and monitor my progress several times a week,” she said. “It was an added benefit to see videos of the exercises to refresh me on exactly how to do them when I was not online with the therapist. I was also much more motivated to stay on track with the schedule since I had to check in daily when I performed the exercises and note on the application how I was doing. I was 100% pleased with this experience and had a great outcome.”
Enthusiasm for the platform is also shared by UT Health Rehabilitation Hospital Administrator Laurie Lehnhof-Watts, who said UT Health Rehabilitation Center caregivers are excited to provide “tele-therapy” utilizing the TheraNow platform.
“This innovative way to provide rehabilitation therapy to patients at home is a treatment option that we are thrilled to extend to our community. We also can reach beyond our usual service area as the distance becomes less of a barrier,” Lehnhof-Watts said. “Our rehabilitation leaders and therapists worked diligently to make this new project a reality and are eager to see it grow. We appreciate the collaborative relationship with TheraNow that will help us improve our patients’ access to UT Health rehabilitation services.”
TheraNow is a leading telehealth service enabling healthcare providers nationwide to promote safer and quicker patient recovery at home. In addition to UT Health East Texas, TheraNow has partnerships with other healthcare and service providers, including Ardent Health Services, Onsite Physio/Worker's Compensation, Indian Health Service, and K12 Education System.
“The new alliance with UT Health East Texas makes it easier for patients to receive treatment at home when they want,” said Dr. Ashok Gupta, DPT, COO, and co-founder of TheraNow. Dr. Gupta, who is often credited as an early pioneer of TeleRehab, directed the several years-long development program with intense feedback from therapists, orthopedic surgeons, hospital administrators and patients.
For more information about TheraNow telehealth physical therapy services, visit www.theranow.com.