Background/ Introduction
The Yan Chai Hospital Physiotherapy Department has established itself as a leader in protocol-driven services through programs like the Structural Non-surgical Treatment Program. Building on this foundation, the department implemented telehealth physiotherapy services in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite initial challenges including low attendance rates, the team's dedication enabled them to overcome these obstacles, resulting in positive patient outcomes and valuable feedback. This experience has positioned the department at the forefront of telehealth integration in physiotherapy services.
Objectives
The department's objectives include maintaining high-quality standards while seamlessly incorporating telehealth into the patient journey, meeting Health Authority deliverables within specified timelines, and developing a sustainable service model to address growing telehealth demand.
Methodology
The methodology encompasses five key areas: exploring and expanding new telehealth services, implementing new case triage protocols, addressing routine cases (particularly focusing on neck conditions which account for 9% of outpatient cases and face 26-28 week waiting times), managing traumatic and post-operative cases, and supporting ambulatory and ward discharge services. This approach strategically addresses service gaps, complementing existing protocol-driven programs for back (20%) and knee (15%) conditions. Also, it serves as a faster track for traumatic, post-operative cases and ambulatory cases.
Result & Outcomes
Since February 2024, the telehealth initiative has served 222 new cases with 953 total attendances. From 2020-2024, there were total 23 zoom classes conducted with more than 400 attendees an 20 tele-health training classes with over 220 attendees with 66% of the participants agreed tele-care is comparable to usual care and 89% of the participants feel very satisfied. . We achieved 265% and 390% at 2024/2025 services target rate.Continuous outcome evaluation and service improvement remain central to the department's approach, with patient satisfaction surveys indicating high approval ratings. The successful implementation of telehealth physiotherapy demonstrates the department's ability to adapt to changing healthcare landscapes while prioritizing patient needs.
