Patient-reported outcomes during telehealth versus in-person follow-up visits for patients treated with extracorporeal shockwave therapy.

Abstract

The limited research describing clinical outcomes using telehealth for management of musculoskeletal conditions is primarily within orthopedic surgery care. To characterize differences in patient reported outcomes using telehealth compared with in-person follow-up visits in patients with Achilles tendinopathy (AT) or plantar fasciitis (PF) treated using extracorporeal shockwave therapy (ESWT). Retrospective chart review. Outpatient sports medicine clinic. 82 patients with AT and 46 patients with PF. In-person (n = 76) and telehealth (n = 52) follow-up visits. Victorian Institute of Sports Assessment-Achilles (VISA-A) for AT and Foot and Ankle Ability Measure (FAAM) for PF as well as billing level. There was significant improvement from baseline to final VISA-A (p < .01) and FAAM (p < .01) following ESWT. No significant difference existed in the proportion of patients who met the minimal clinically important difference based on in-person (71.1%) versus telehealth (71.2%) follow-up (p = .99). The in-person group demonstrated higher billing levels compared to the telehealth group (Level: 3.5 ± 0.6 vs. 2.8 ± 0.7, p < .01). Given no significant differences in outcomes between two modes of follow-ups, telehealth may serve as an alternative method to guide management of musculoskeletal injuries with ESWT and other procedures.