For the 50% of employees suffering from musculoskeletal (MSK) conditions, a physical therapy benefit that provides effective, efficient care means they can better
MSK conditions are one of the fastest-growing health issues for adults, and treatment costs measure in the hundreds of billions for employers. These challenges are compounded by the need for patients to access proper care while facing
LainaHealth's platform seeks to help people overcome all of these hindrances by providing digital access to PT anywhere through their smart device — no downloads or equipment required. The AI component runs alongside expert care from the company's staff of doctors of physical therapy (DPT), ensuring
"It's all anchored in access," says Ryan Eder, LainaHealth's founder and CEO. "We integrate with the existing provider network — with primary care physicians, with your orthopedic specialist — and our whole goal is to expand access to their network. They refer to us like you would a traditional PT: We collaborate on care plan structures, we collect all the outcomes data, and we report it back."
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How AI enhances delivery of care
Following a referral, patients meet virtually with a DPT for an initial evaluation and to get a care plan in place. From there, the platform's web-based AI agent, Laina, comes in. Laina runs on computer vision — technology that "sees" the patient through their device as they go through their PT exercises. The motion-tracking technology measures adherence and range of motion, evolves with progress and collects a patient's reports to send back to their managing DPT.
If issues such as a spike in pain or low mobility are detected, an alert is automatically issued to their provider who then reaches out, and patients can message their DPT at any time. Outside of this, they typically meet with their provider face-to-face once a month.
"By pairing our clinicians with the technology, we're breaking that synchronous dependency and care delivery," Eder says. "When they're doing their care plans asynchronously, they're able to do it whenever it works for them; they're not limited to clinic hours or having to travel. We're able to remove all those barriers, and a lot of our patients feel more connected to their PT because they can reach out to them at any time."
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For employers, this can make a huge difference in the health of their MSK-afflicted workforce population. Research shows that up to 76% of patients who are referred to PT never go, increasing the chance of a worsening, more expensive condition. With LainaHealth's balanced approach of tech and human touch, employers have seen double the average engagement with care and a 50% or higher reduction in PT spend.
"Our PTs are able to build a therapeutic alliance with our patients, but still maintain an asynchronous relationship," says Thanos Papavasiliou, LainaHealth's head of clinical operations. "From the clinician perspective, we're able to use data to make decisions and be proactive with patients."
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For employees who have LainaHealth within their benefits plan, the combined easy access and clinical expertise means they can gain quick, quality, affordable access to the level of PT they need at any given time.
"If you can make care more convenient, you're going to get better adherence, which leads to better outcomes," Eder says. "Then you leverage technology to measure those outcomes and make them transparent so everybody sees it and it's quantifiable. That's the holy grail we're delivering."
