NHS Lothian has become the first health board or trust in the UK to give patients access to an AI-powered physiotherapy clinic to patients with back pain.
The health board is deploying the platform developed by Flok Health, a tech firm in Cambridge, to help patients access same-day appointments for painful back issues.
It follows trials of the technology last year and the platform will be available to patients across a range of community healthcare settings in the region.
Created using video footage of a human physiotherapist, Flok Health’s digital clinic is able to offer patients personalised treatment at population scale, in a setting which feels like a structured responsive video call with a physiotherapist.
During recent NHS trials of Flok Health, 100% of patients said their experience with the AI physiotherapist had been “better” or “the same as” what they’d expect from a human physiotherapist. More than four in five patients (86%) reported that their symptoms had improved during treatment with Flok.
The NHS Lothian pilot means anyone registered with one of the 126 GP practices within NHS Lothian can now self-refer directly to Flok’s digital MSK clinic via existing self-referral portals, or can be referred by participating GP practices.
Using the technology, they will be able to access a physiotherapy appointment via the Flok app that same day. The service also has significant data integrations and sharing with other NHS services in the region to ensure joined up care for patients and clinicians, and the ability to produce robust multi-faceted analysis of the clinical and cost impacts of deploying the AI service.
“AI-enabled services such as Flok have the potential to improve the patient journey for some people with back pain through providing rapid, flexible access to care,” said Phil Ackerman, consultant MSK physiotherapist from NHS Lothian. “It also offers an alternative management option for those who prefer a digital approach. Working in partnership on this pilot with Flok and Health Innovation Hub, South East Scotland, offers an outstanding and unique opportunity to explore how Flok’s digital back pain service can be integrated within our range of healthcare services.”