The Peterson Health Technology Institute just published a fascinating article (below) showing that first-generation virtual Musculoskeletal (MSK) care solutions have proven clinical efficacy. On July 1, we're releasing Medbridge Pathways, a next-generation hybrid MSK platform for patients and their local providers that allows virtual and physical care to be intertwined. This approach to care builds on the pioneering work done by first-gen virtual MSK solutions and addresses their three biggest shortcomings:
1. Dis-intermediated local providers - first-gen solutions have done an end-run around existing brick-and mortar providers to build their own digitally-siloed provider networks, leading to gaps in care and generally low patient adoption.
2. Fragmented solution ecosystems - the first-gen landscape can be segmented into 3 distinct segments that deliver a narrow set of services appropriate only for a subset of patients. And when physical care is needed, they can't provide it.
3. Unnecessary costly services - because of point (2), too many first-gen providers have built redundant, human-powered services that don't take advantage of the provider ecosystem that ALREADY exists in the brick and mortar world.
While these first-gen solutions have done pioneering work proving that virtual MSK CAN improve patient access and outcomes, their success is limited by the three factors above. Which is why we've designed Pathways differently.
First off, we've built Pathways as platform for use by existing brick-and-mortar providers to give them more options and greater reach when treating their patients. Second, because of our clinician-first approach, Pathways can be used to support patients across the acuity spectrum: it can provide low/no-touch, automated care for low acuity patients; it can be prescribed by treating PTs to supplement patient care in between brick-and-mortar visits; it can be used by a hospital's virtual team as a platform that integrates with their care...and it allows any provider using it to bill for RTM.
Finally, because we work with - not against - local clinical networks, our solution is significantly less expensive than the alternatives even as it offers greater capabilities to patients and providers alike.
If Caroline Pearson - executive director of the Peterson Health Technology Institute and the author of this report's intro - had seen one of our Pathways-enabled clinicians after breaking her leg in 2023, she would have had a very different care experience than what she described. If her provider had had Pathways, Caroline would have had no missing sessions due to work travel, no squeezing visits into inconvenient appointment slots, and no disconnects in care between a first-gen virtual MSK solution and her own local care team.
Medbridge Pathways. Available for all on 1 July.
