Transition to Telehealth Physical Therapy After Hip Arthroscopy for Femoroacetabular Impingement: A Pilot Study With Retrospective Matched-Cohort Analysis.

BACKGROUND

Telehealth use has increased significantly of late. However, outside of total hip and knee arthroplasty, there is minimal evidence regarding its efficacy in orthopaedics and postoperative rehabilitation.

PURPOSE

To determine the efficacy and cost-effectiveness of a transition to postoperative telehealth physical therapy in patients undergoing hip arthroscopy for femoroacetabular impingement (FAI).

STUDY DESIGN

Cohort study; Level of evidence, 3.

METHODS

Included were 51 patients undergoing postoperative physical therapy after hip arthroscopy for FAI. The intervention group consisted of patients undergoing initial in-person visits followed by a transition to telehealth physical therapy for 3 months postoperatively (group 1; n = 17). Comparison groups included patients undergoing in-person physical therapy with the same physical therapy team as the telehealth group (group 2; n = 17) and patients undergoing in-person therapy with a different therapy team at the same facility (group 3; n = 17). All groups were matched 1-to-1 by patient age and sex. All patients completed the short version of the International Hip Outcome Tool (iHOT-12) both preoperatively and at 3 months postoperatively. At 3 months postoperatively, it was determined whether patients met the minimally clinically important difference (MCID; ≥13 points) or substantial clinical benefit (SCB; ≥28 points) or whether they reached a Patient Acceptable Symptomatic State (PASS; ≥64 points). Billed charges were recorded as a measure of cost.

RESULTS

The overall mean age of the study patients ranged from 33 to 34 years. Among the 3 groups, there was no significant difference in the preoperative, postoperative, or pre- to postoperative change in iHOT-12 scores or in the percentage of patients meeting MCID, SCB, or PASS at 3 months. Group 1 had significantly lower mean costs ($1015.67) compared with group 2 ($1555.62; = .011) or group 3 ($1896.38; < .001).

CONCLUSION

In this pilot study, telehealth physical therapy after hip arthroscopy was found to lead to similar short-term outcomes and was cost-effective compared with in-person physical therapy.