First NHS AI-run physio clinic in England halves back-pain waiting list | NHS

According to the NHS Trust, the first NHS AI physiotherapy clinic has half the waiting list for back pain and musculoskeletal services, according to the NHS Trust where the pilot took place.

More than 2,500 patients living in Cambridgeshire and Peterborough were able to access Flok Health, a physiotherapy platform led by AI, over a period of 12 weeks from February.

The platform, which was created using a video sequence of a human physiotherapist, provides automated video appointments the same day with a digital physiotherapist via an application that responds to information provided by a patient in real time.

When the clinic was launched for the first time in Cambridgeshire, waiting times for musculoskeletal services (MSK) (MSK) in the region were approximately 18 weeks.

The waiting times for all MSK conditions decreased by 44% during the period of 12 weeks due to the use of the Flok combined with other initiatives such as the days of community evaluation, according to the Community services of Cambridgeshire NHS Trust (CCS), which deployed the services in these regions of England.

Regarding back pain, the AI Flok clinic has reduced the waiting lists for 55% disease and saved 856 hours of clinician time per month, according to the company.

“Seeing the impact our service has had in Cambridgeshire and Peterborough, which is also where our team lives and works, has been incredibly significant,” said Finn Stevenson, co-founder and managing director of Flok Health.

Anna-Marie Cooper, from Cambridge, had a positive experience using Flok despite its initially skeptical when it was referred to the IA physio for its back pain.

“I have used private physiotherapy services in the past, but I found my experience with physio as good as, if not better than the care I received before,” she said. “The Flok service was so intuitive, and having the flexibility to plan and reorganize the appointments every time I wanted to suit me.”

But the Charterred Society of Physiotherapy (CSP) said that although AI has great potential for the future of health treatments, it was concerned about the expansion of health inequalities for other patients who could not or did not want to access physiotherapy care via an application.

John Cowman, the CEO of the CSP, said: “When the waiting time problem is resolved, it is important to deal with the deep causes, one of which is the recruitment which currently freezes the physiotherapists graduates to find work in the NHS. We have a workforce ready to provide proven and safe care that will help reduce waiting times and make sure people need it.

“The AI will certainly play an increasing role in health care in the years to come as a tool to support services, but should be managed jointly with the increase in physiotherapy labor.”

IA-CLINIC should be deployed on more NHS trustees across England, according to Flok Health.

Mike Passfield, deputy director of Cambridge Community Services NHS Trust, said: “We are proud to have been the first NHS organization in England to deploy the Physiotherapy Clinic fueled by Flok Health on a large scale.

“This pilot has shown how innovation, when integrated safely and thought out in NHS tracks, can considerably improve access, results and experience of patients. We look forward to working with the Flock to explore how this service can be set up in our region to benefit even more people. ”