A digital physiotherapy platform that allows patients to start treatment instantly on their phone instead of waiting for a GP appointment has now gone live in six areas of Scotland.
The Phio app, a musculoskeletal (MSK) triage and rehabilitation technology, is active in NHS Lanarkshire, NHS North Highland, NHS Highland (Argyll & Bute), NHS Borders, NHS Shetland and NHS Orkney.
And according to the latest figures, the technology is having a profound impact on resources. In NHS Highland, digital triage is saving around £134,000 in GP time and £29,000 in physiotherapy appointments each year, while 75% of assessed patients manage their condition independently. The platform is also available in five regions in England, bringing it to 11 in total for the UK.
Phio, through which people are quickly directed to the right source of support for their muscle or joint problems, or provided with resources for self-management, was built by a company called EQL.
The firm was co-founded by health entrepreneur Jason Ward, physiotherapist and entrepreneur Peter Grinbergs and operations expert Samantha Medcraft to improve access to world-class musculoskeletal care.
Phio Access is a conversational computational assessment that asks the patient adaptive questions drawn from a decision-tree library covering 3,000-plus MSK scenarios. In less than five minutes it signposts users to the most appropriate care pathway, for example, those needing urgent care, those requiring a physiotherapy appointment, or those who can and wish to manage their condition remotely.
Phio Engage is the companion smartphone app that delivers evidence-based exercise programmes; 24/7 access to clinicians via a messaging interface and a dashboard that tracks progress and pain scores, so that clinicians can step in if the recovery stalls.
Mick Thacker, Professor of pain and head of R&D at EQL, said: “We simply cannot train 12,000 extra physios overnight. Faced with a national MSK pain pandemic, we have to widen the front door to care and make the best use of AI and technology. MSK pain is a societal issue, negatively impacting both the individual, their carers and loved ones, as well as employment and social well-being.
“Digital triage backed by good analytics and personalised care is the only realistic way to keep Britain’s population healthy while protecting human face-to-face services for the people who need them most. Digital approaches naturally support effective self-management, empowering the person to take control of their own condition.”
According to healthcare statistics, 19.5 million working days were lost to MSK sickness in 2022 – one eight-hour shift every 1.6 seconds. Calculated from ONS’s employment records, that amounted to 185.6 million total sick-days, of which 10.5 % were MSK-related.
Back and neck pain alone drain £1.4 billion a year from the welfare budget and sideline almost a million working-age adults in the UK.