Pathways is Medbridge's new provider-driven clinical digital program platform. Learn more about Medbridge Pathways and request a demo.
Medbridge Pathways is a digital platform providing clinically validated, progressive programs to support patients in managing specific health conditions. Each program is tailored to address particular needs, with progression plans, educational materials, and interactive features designed to engage patients over several weeks of set planned phases.
We know you have questions about this new platform, and we have answers. In this article, we'll answer the most frequently asked questions we've received since announcing Medbridge Pathways.
Pathways and Medbridge
How are Pathways programs and protocols designed and built?
Every Pathway program goes through an extensive clinical rigor process using a variety of expertise and sources. These include:
- Evidence-based Research: We perform an extensive clinical research literature review of the most up-to-date research. This includes clinical practice guidelines, systematic reviews, randomized controlled trials from the past 5 years, large-scale retrospective studies, and qualitative research studies.
- Internal Clinical Expertise: Pathways are scoped, developed, and built by clinical experts with over 35 years of hands-on experience treating and supporting patients across the entirety of MSK conditions. Learn more about our medical expert partners.
- Medical Review Board: All exercise and education protocols are consulted on, reviewed by, and approved by our multidisciplinary Medical Advisory Board. We also consult with multiple clinical subject matter experts for specialty areas, such as Fall Prevention, to ensure our exercise and education are clinically rigorous. Learn more about our Medical Advisory Board.
- Medbridge Proprietary Data: In addition to our clinical expertise and medical review board, our exercise protocols are informed by proprietary data from our HEP Product which had over 13 million programs assigned to patients last year. This includes which exercises are most widely prescribed to patients for each given condition.
We are monitoring utilization, engagement, and outcomes across all of our Pathways programs to allow us to continuously improve and fine-tune our research.
While Pathways are standardized, providers will have the ability to personalize Pathways to meet patients needs. Each protocol will have a set of exercises which providers can choose from to swap or replace as needed to account for specific patient needs.
How does Pathways differ from traditional Home Exercise Programs (HEP)?
Pathways is a separate product within the Care product family that is solving different challenges than HEP. While traditional HEPs offer customizable standalone exercise programs to incorporate into larger rehabilitation plans, Pathways delivers standardized evidence-based programs that encompass assessments, exercises, education, and engagement strategies.
This comprehensive approach ensures consistency in care and allows for better reported outcomes.
Which conditions are covered by Pathways?
Pathways offers programs for various conditions, including but not limited to:
- Musculoskeletal (MSK) conditions
- Fall prevention
- Pelvic health
Can patients access Pathways from the Medbridge GO app?
No, Pathways is accessible through a web app optimized for mobile devices and accessed via a web browser. This approach addresses concerns about app fatigue in healthcare and offers a more desired and user-friendly experience for patients. Patients can enhance accessibility by adding a Pathways shortcut to their mobile devices.
We recommend that patients use a Chromium-based browser (such as Chrome or Edge). While patients may use other browsers to access Pathways, please note only Chromium-based browsers are officially supported.
Pathways cannot be accessed through the Medbridge GO app.
Are you continuing to enhance the HEP product?
Our existing HEP platform will continue to be maintained, as these products support thousands of clinicians and millions of patients today and will continue to serve them going forward. While we are continuing to evaluate ways to improve our HEP platform, RTM with HEP will see no more enhancements going forward. All RTM improvements will be completed with Pathways, as it's digital-first build and patient-centered approach offer more value to customers looking to implement RTM in their department or clinic.
Implementation and Usage
How can providers get started with Pathways?
Providers can begin by previewing available pathways to understand the included exercises and education. They can then create patient profiles, assign appropriate pathways, and share access via text, email, or QR code. Providers also have the flexibility to swap exercises within a pathway to better suit individual patient needs, selecting from a pool of curated exercises.
How can providers monitor patient progress within Pathways?
The Pathways Clinician Dashboard enables providers to monitor patient enrollments, engagement levels, and patient-reported outcomes. This centralized view assists clinicians in prioritizing patient outreach and tailoring interventions based on individual progress. Pathways also incorporates automated tracking and alerts within the Alerts tab to flag potential concerns for further intervention.
Can a patient be enrolled in multiple pathways at the same time, such as a Knee Pain pathway and a Stress Incontinence pathway?
Yes, patients can be enrolled in multiple pathways at the same time.
Are there resources available to help providers integrate Pathways into their practice?
Yes, Medbridge offers additional resources, including clinician job aids and patient flyers, to support the integration of Pathways into clinical practice. These materials can enhance understanding and utilization of the platform among both staff and patients.
If you’re new to digital care, we’ve also launched our Digital Health Academy which has great content that can help your transition to a digital care structure. We highly recommend having your clinicians take the courses so they can see the benefits of digital care, how to communicate with patients, and how to get the most out of the Medbridge platform.
How do patients progress in a Pathway?
The standard approach for Pathways is that patients can progress through their phased program at their own pace. These phases have a minimum length of time which varies by program. However, clinicians can also move patients forward and backward in the program as needed.
What type of outcomes will you be monitoring, i.e. pain, function, etc.?
Medbridge Pathways uses industry-approved, evidence-based Patient Reported Outcomes frameworks for assessments. These assessments go beyond just movements, measuring pain interference, physical function, and social activity satisfaction to measure the impact of different conditions on a patient's life. Assessments are done via surveys, as well as Motion Capture technology where applicable. You will be able to view and monitor this assessment information within the patient record, as well as view overall trends in assessment information within your dashboard.
Patients receive assessments on a regular cadence determined by their program (commonly weekly) where they are asked about factors relevant to their condition. This could include pain, function, overall improvement, red flags, NPS satisfaction, and readiness for progression. Patients will also have the ability to take a weekly motion capture assessment where applicable.
Where is Motion Capture utilized in Pathways?
Motion Capture is currently used in the Low Back Pain MSK pathway and Fall Prevention pathways. We believe these deliver critical value to providers, giving deeper understanding into patient abilities to track progress, personalize programs, and collect objective measures in remote or hybrid care programs.
We are exploring other ways to bring Motion Capture to Pathways.
What is the value of Motion Capture in Pathways?
Our system is designed to provide unparalleled precision in detecting and analyzing body movements, supporting a wide range of applications from physical therapy to athletic training. At the core of our technology is Artificial Intelligence Motion Capture (MoCap) which involves identifying positions of objects in space as they pertain to human anatomy. Basically, detecting body parts and positions to analyze movement.
We use a variety of proprietary methodologies and third party tools to accurately capture body parts' positions and movements in real-time. We leverage laptop and smartphone optical systems high definition cameras complemented by inertial sensors leveraging gyroscopes and accelerometers to track real-time body movements. By simply placing the mobile device on a location that allows video capturing, the analysis is performed in real-time.
Our advanced algorithms process this data to provide detailed insights into movement patterns, biomechanics, and posture. We continuously train and fine-tune our models using machine learning techniques, ensuring they remain accurate and adaptable to new data inputs. This iterative process involves rigorous testing and validation, allowing us to refine our systems to deliver the highest quality results.
For providers, Motion Capture delivers a deeper understanding of patients' movement abilities beyond what the naked eye can see. With new data and insights, providers can personalize programs and see progress better than ever before.
Technical Considerations
How can patients create a shortcut to Pathways on their mobile devices?
Patients can add a Pathways shortcut to their mobile device's home screen for easier access. You can read detailed instructions here.
What should a provider do if a patient has not enrolled in their assigned Pathway?
Providers can check the enrollment status of their patients through the Clinician Dashboard or the Patients tab. If a patient has not enrolled, it's advisable to follow up with them to encourage participation and address any potential barriers.
Is Remote Therapeutic Monitoring (RTM) available for Pathways?
Yes, RTM can be enabled for Pathways. You can learn more about RTM in Pathways here.
What integrations are offered?
Pathways can be directly integrated with Epic and MyChart.