Co-founder Michael Oberlander, MD, CEO Michael Ricci and staff of Trainer Rx have devised a new app by the same name. The purpose is to guide patients with orthopedic injuries through a thoughtful progression in order to better understand their diagnosis, pathology, rehabilitation and recovery.
Trainer Rx has more than 700 HD videos providing users with detailed exercise programs and instructional material that will help them in their recovery. Rather than displaying typical instructors doing mundane exercises, Trainer Rx goes one step further and utilizes visual aids that are appealing to users.
"The videos are not typical exercises performed on a table or floor mat in a physical therapy facility,” explains Dr. Oberlander, co-founder & chief medical officer. "The videos are set in unique locations around northern California. The models are of various ages and ethnicities with videos containing dialog and written material explaining the proper technique and purpose of the exercise. This is done with a lofty goal of raising the bar relative to other medical and exercise apps in this space."
Dr. Oberlander and staff launched Trainer Rx for beta testing in April, after two years of development, and began selling the app in mid-July. Although the app has only been available for a month, the feedback has been extremely positive with many medical professionals recommending the app to their patients as a tool to monitor their recovery and deliver detailed rehabilitative content.
Physicians, physical therapists, nurse practitioners and athletic trainers prescribe Trainer Rx with confidence to patients knowing that the protocols are based on authoritative leaders in the orthopedic community. The team of medical professionals at Trainer Rx includes physician assistants, physical therapists and certified athletic trainers who meet twice a week to vet treatment algorithms to ensure safe, best practices for patients. The team's leader, Dr. Oberlander, is a renowned orthopedic surgeon and sports medicine specialist who has been practicing for more than 25 years and is a seasoned editor and board member of The American Journal of Sports Medicine.
"What physicians and therapists love about Trainer Rx is that it is an expert system," says Mr. Ricci, CEO of Trainer Rx. "It is a program that they can use efficiently in an automated format but also have flexibility to fully or partially customize the programs and pathways to suit their individual and patient specific needs. All the protocols are based on published peer-reviewed sources and top institutions."
The app:
• Is designed to encourage patients to take responsibility for their own recovery each step of the way
• Incorporates literature-based subjective outcome data questionnaires and visual analog pain scales to measure a patient's progress over time
• Includes graphics and analytics to allow providers to quickly view a patient's exercise participation dashboard
"Testing shows patients are much more inclined to do the exercises when they know that a physician or therapist is monitoring their progress," says Dr. Oberlander.
The app was designed to make patients more accountable for their health, while facilitating good communication between a patient and his/her medical providers.
"The app allows the physician, therapist and the patient to track progress and issues encountered during recovery, while making the patient accountable with a real time, cloud-based HIPAA compliant solution," states Mr. Ricci.
As most providers know, patients do not perform every exercise that is recommended for their recovery. Trainer Rx delivers the exercises based on their specific diagnosis and biology of healing. The detailed order of exercises ensures that a patient will be directed to perform the exercises most beneficial and essential first in his/her recovery session(s).
"We have put a lot of effort into making Trainer Rx a consumer-based app," says Dr. Oberlander. "It includes a goals and awards system to highlight accomplishments and encourage patient engagement while also providing valuable information for the medical providers."
Trainer Rx is paving the way for future technologies that enable enhanced methods for education and communication between patients and their providers. Rather than solely relying on "in-person" check-ups that are costly and time-consuming, Trainer Rx offers a comprehensive aid to optimize recovery.
"Trainer Rx is an excellent rehab and recovery tool for patients who may be underinsured or cannot afford outpatient physical therapy," says Dr. Oberlander. "With ever increasing healthcare expenditures, insurance companies are decreasing the number of covered visits per year. The app is a cost-effective way for therapists to augment their treatment regimens."
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