Telehealth Physical Therapy: Convenience & Technology

Wouldn’t it be nice to have your questions answered at your convenience when it comes to movement, joint and muscle pain? Do you ever wish you had a doctor in the family or at home, or  could talk to a physical therapist virtually when these questions come up? How about being treated without having to leave your house? Maybe you live remotely and attending a medical appointment is a two hour commute away…

Butheau Physiotherapy, a mobile physical therapy services company in Burien, WA now offers Telehealth consultations in addition to their increasingly successful mobile physical therapy services in their patient’s home or work environment.

Healthcare and its delivery continue to change, along with the technology that is becoming more widely available for all of us to use. Telehealth physical therapy is not new but has seen a surge in its popularity in the United States and the rest of the world. Mainly due to its convenience and lower cost of operation. Its reach and the ability for someone to be treated even though they live in a rural or remote area also make it an attractive option for many people.

So what is Telehealth Physical Therapy? Telehealth is the use of technology to deliver remote healthcare. Basically , a treatment by video conference, where the patients is able to ask questions, have them answered and an evaluation can be performed and a physical therapist can educate and demonstrate a home program to a patient, just like they would in person. Many conditions and injuries can be addressed without hands-on care necessarily. A Telehealth Physical Therapy Consultation can be an excellent way to rule out or identify a more serious condition that would require care. The patient would then be referred to another professionals immediately.

Telehealth Physical Therapy is an excellent and affordable way to triage non emergency conditions and the American Medical Association (AMA) estimates on average $1,000 per patient will be saved through the use of telerehabilitation.

​Let’s take the example of an acute back strain while doing yard work or home improvement. The patient would be able to contact a back pain expert, a.k.a a physical therapist, within minutes or hours of his injury. This would allow him to find out exactly what to do, what to avoid, what movement to perform, position/ posture to get in to start addressing their symptoms right away… vs either having to go to an expensive ER or urgent care…or waiting days or week to be seen by their family doctor…who would more than likely refer them to physical therapy anyway.

​Of course, sometimes Telehealth Physical Therapy treatment need to be supplemented by an in -person visit, but a physical therapy plan of care could involve 1-2 Telehealth sessions a week for 3-5 weeks while complementing with 1-2 in person visits. This could save the patient a lot of time in trying to fit their appointments in their busy schedule. If the patient is on the road or traveling… no problem, the patient would log on through a privacy compliant video conference app to attend their physical therapy treatment.

At Butheau Physiotherapy, offering convenience has been part of our business model with at home or work site physical therapy treatments. In an effort to continue offering even more convenience and always looking ahead in regards to modern convenience and technology, we are now excited to offer Telehealth Physical Therapy consultations to our current and prospective patients.

We offer 30 minutes, 45 minutes and 60 minutes consultations depending on the need of the patient. We use the HIPAA compliant video conference platform / app Doxy.

Enquire about our Telehealth Physical Therapy Consultation now with your questions at pierre@butheauphysio.com or by phone at (425) 281-4171. ​

We are excited to start our journey with Telehealth Physical Therapy and to continue offering more convenience and quality to Burien, Seattle and all Puget Sounds communities.