Have you ever hurt
Have you ever hurt your back, had a sports related injury, suffered a strain or sprain, broken a bone, or had surgery? If so, you have probably experienced some form of therapy delivered by clinicians who specialize in physical medicine and rehabilitation. Depending on your injury or condition, you may have started therapy in the hospital or in an outpatient clinic. Your therapy may have gone on for months and required frequent trips back and forth between your home and a physical therapy center. And let’s face it, the last thing you want to do when you’re already hurting is to haul yourself into a car or other transportation and go somewhere for therapy.
It’s no wonder then that as I travel the world I see so many technology solutions aimed at making physical therapy a better and easier experience. This is particularly true for solutions that include some sort of on-line, computer-based therapy that uses motion sensing technology such as Microsoft Kinect for Xbox or Windows PCs. In fact, I am aware of dozens of companies doing work in this space. Perhaps that’s not surprising considering that the US physical therapy market alone is valued at $29.4 Billion. Market research puts a value of $0.5 to $1.0 Billion annually for these new computer or gaming-based adjunct solutions for physical therapy and rehabilitation. The home-use market is expected to be an even larger opportunity.
If one examines the so-called “triple aim” of the health reform movement (higher quality, improved access to care, and lower cost of care) it is easy to see how BioGaming and other companies with a focus on improving the patient experience in physical medicine and rehabilitation programs are contributing to all three. Game on!