New turnkey, integrated solution creates hybrid digital and in-person model
ROCKLIN, Calif., and NEW YORK — July 20, 2021 — Luna, the leader in on-demand physical therapy, and Force Therapeutics, the leading patient engagement platform and research network, announced today a new partnership that will deliver innovative physical therapy beyond the four walls of a clinic. Their joint turnkey solution enables health systems to provide physical therapy directly to patients, through both in-person care delivered to them and via digital services.
The collaboration provides a new hybrid model for health systems reimagining their care delivery strategies, with a patient-centric solution at the intersection of at-home care and digital health.
Prior to a patient’s episode of care, such as orthopedic surgery, Force Therapeutics’ platform dynamically scales each patient’s personalized care plan with provider-driven protocols to ensure optimal recovery — all of which is shared with patients’ care teams, including their surgeons and primary care physicians. If the care team determines the patient needs outpatient physical therapy at home, the patient’s data and care plan are shared with Luna.
Luna then delivers care directly where patients want it: their homes. This at-home model of physical therapy removes the barriers to care of time and transportation that too often prevent patients from completing their treatment plans. It also enables partner health systems to keep patients within their systems, whereas most in the current model experience referral leakage rates of 50 percent or more, meaning at least half of patients referred to physical therapy end up seeking care elsewhere or not at all. The integrated solution with Force allows patients to access additional education and videos and track their progress, and data collection is automatically shared with the patient’s care team.
"Over the past 10 years, we've shaped and defined how musculoskeletal digital care is deployed today," said Mark Lieberman, president and cofounder of Force Therapeutics. "Based upon evidence from 350,000 patients treated on our platform, Force empowers clinicians to deliver validated content-rich protocols and stay connected to their patients when they’re outside of the health system. We're thrilled to partner with Luna in providing a new solution to forward-thinking health systems.”
“In this age of consumerization, Luna and Force are truly putting patients first by giving them multiple options to complete physical therapy on their own terms,” said Palak Shah, head of clinical services at Luna. “A recent industry survey indicated that 3 in 4 patients are more loyal to providers that invest in improving the patient experience. Luna and Force are capitalizing on this important trend to improve the physical therapy process for all stakeholders.”
The new solution offers major advantages for health systems, care teams, and patients over the status quo model of physical therapy, including:
- Greater efficiency: Through the integrated platform, all services are now available with just one click, including patient data for health systems, recovery progress for providers, and countless digital assets for patients to use throughout their care journeys. By optimizing efficiency, the solution enables health systems to operate strategically with tight resources following the pandemic.
- Higher quality of care: The ability to set protocols and escalate any red flags allows systems to improve and standardize outcomes across all patients, compared to the current model where patients often seek care at a variety of out-of-system clinics — making it increasingly difficult for their care teams to monitor progress.
- Seamless user experience: Patients no longer have to choose between in-person or virtual care. With this integrated solution, they now have instant access to both. This wide range of services also allows providers to tailor recovery plans based on each patient’s unique needs.
"The pandemic accelerated a shift we were making at Scripps to deliver care directly to patients,” said Matt Cantonis, AVP of Clinical Service Lines at Scripps Health. “This combination of easy-to-use in-person and digital services allows our providers to tailor recovery plans that optimize outcomes for each patient across the continuum of care.”
Luna and Force Therapeutics’ easy-to-start solution is available nationwide to more than 70 health systems that now have instant access to digital and in-person offerings, allowing innovators like Scripps Health to immediately deliver care outside the hospital’s four walls.
