— BACKGROUND

Understanding the Landscape

Origin is a company that provides physical therapy for women and mothers. Around March/April when COVID-19 began, Origin was rebranding and looking for ways to improve their virtual offerings. I worked with Origin to map out how to streamline the effectiveness of their service.

— DISCOVERY

Initial Research

Initial research, which included a survey and internal discussions, showed that there were friction points in the back-end and the front-end in following areas:
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Some patients need manual work and so they do not see the value of virtual physical therapy.
Patient retention rate is lower than before COVID-19.
Scheduling feels disjointed due to different software use.
Difficulties with on-boarding patients.
Follow-up for appointments and treatment plans need more coordination.

MAIN GOALS

1. Increase retention among virtual care clients

2. Reduce operational burden for stakeholders

— USER RESEARCH

Methods

Two methods were used to gather more in-depth insights. The first was a contextual inquiry. This method enabled me to engage with the process the way a typical user would. I experienced scheduling, on-boarding, visiting a physical therapist and follow-up messaging. The second method was 1-on-1 interviews. We recruited a total of 6 participants for Zoom interviews. This included patients and stakeholders at Origin.

— FINDINGS

Research Wall

I created a research wall based on all the information that was gathered from my contextual inquiry, interviews with stakeholders, interviews with patients, and feedback from internal discussions. I then pulled out significant themes from these findings.

STREAMLINING THE SERVICE

As I began to map out the issues, it became incredibly clear to me that the final product to deliver to Origin would be a service blueprint. This would enable the Origin to visualize how to coordinate the service in a way that works for both stakeholders and patients.

Recommendations for patients

+ Create a virtual care webpage that provides patients with clarity about how it works. Patients can also schedule a 15 minute consult to learn more
+ Create clear, at-home pre-recorded exercise videos that patients can follow
+ Create virtual group salons focused around community building or education
+ Create branded equipment kits that to send out to patients. This can include a guide on how to set up your space at home, an anatomy model diagram leaflet with key areas annotated, and a general plan of care leaflet which highlights milestone appointments

Recommendations for stakeholders
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+ Integrate Dr. Chrono and Luma in order to decrease the number of platforms being used.
+ OnPatient form should be sent immediately after booking if possible. Also send patients a reminder to fill out form 15 -20 mins before appt if possible.
+ Text patients reminders to reschedule, or have them reschedule during visit, or allow them to create recurring appointments when booking.
+ Talk to patients about their plan of care including milestone appointments, during the actual PT visit in order to encourage patients to reschedule.
+ Encourage patients to book online to avoid payment issues. If need be, guide them through online booking whilst on the phone with them.

Enhancing Women's Virtual Physical Therapy Offerings