Evaluating Efficiency of a Provincial Telerehabilitation Service in Improving Access to Care During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Scope: Early in the COVID-19 pandemic, community rehabilitation stakeholders from a provincial health system designed a novel telerehabilitation service. The service provided wayfinding and self-management advice to individuals with musculoskeletal concerns, neurological conditions, or post-COVID-1...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Katelyn Brehon, Jay Carriere, Katie Churchill, Adalberto Loyola-Sanchez, Elizabeth Papathanassoglou, Rob MacIsaac, Mahdi Tavakoli, Chester Ho, Kiran Pohar Manhas
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: University Library System, University of Pittsburgh 2023-05-01
Series:International Journal of Telerehabilitation
Subjects:
Online Access:http://telerehab.pitt.edu/ojs/Telerehab/article/view/6523
Description
Summary:Scope: Early in the COVID-19 pandemic, community rehabilitation stakeholders from a provincial health system designed a novel telerehabilitation service. The service provided wayfinding and self-management advice to individuals with musculoskeletal concerns, neurological conditions, or post-COVID-19 recovery needs. This study evaluated the efficiency of the service in improving access to care. Methodology: We used multiple methods including secondary data analyses of call metrics, narrative analyses of clinical notes using artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML), and qualitative interviews.                                                                        Conclusions: Interviews revealed that the telerehabilitation service had the potential to positively impact access to rehabilitation during the COVID-19 pandemic, for individuals living rurally, and for individuals on wait lists. Call metric analyses revealed that efficiency may be enhanced if call handling time was reduced. AI/ML analyses found that pain was the most frequently-mentioned keyword in clinical notes, suggesting an area for additional telerehabilitation resources to ensure efficiency.
ISSN:1945-2020