Medbridge is excited to share some great news and helpful information on our latest digital patient care platform. This article answers the most frequently asked questions we get regarding Pathways and the free trial.
Pathways Overview
What is Medbridge Pathways?
Pathways is our new digital MSK care platform that provides you with clinically validated, progressive programs to support your low risk MSK patients. Each program is tailored to address specific needs, with progression plans and interactive features designed to engage patients over several weeks. View the patient experience with our clickable demo.
Programs include condition-specific assessments, exercises and education, automated task reminders, and behavioral science-based engagement strategies for your patients. Clinicians will receive inactivity alerts and have access to a dashboard flagging concerns or risks to allow for further intervention.
Patients progress at their own pace, while you stay up to date on their progression. With Pathways, you can spend more time in-clinic with your patients with higher complexity conditions, while staying engaged and delivering the right care to those with lower complexity conditions.
How is Pathways structured?
Pathways is designed as pre-built phased programs that allow patients to progress at their own pace, with clinicians reviewing and, when needed, engaging.
Each phase includes both exercise and educational content, which progresses with the patient throughout their phases. Phases are typically one to two weeks long, depending on the condition. As the clinician, you are able to progress a patient forward and swap exercises as needed to meet that patient's unique needs.
Patients are also prompted to complete ongoing assessments, which allows both patients and clinicians to track progress digitally.
What conditions are covered in Pathways?
You can browse our full library of programs here to explore the conditions we cover and get a detailed preview of each program. Here are just a few examples of the programs available:
- Plantar Fasciitis (Foot Pain, Advanced Foot Pain)
- Hip Osteoarthritis (Standard and Advanced)
- Knee Osteoarthritis (Standard and Advanced)
- Low Back Pain (Standard, Advanced, Extension, Flexion)
- Neck Pain (Standard and Advanced)
- Shoulder Pain (Standard and Advanced)
Which patients are a good fit for Pathways?
Pathways is designed to support your lower complexity patients with the most common MSK conditions.
In addition to general lower complexity MSK patients, Pathways is also a good option for patients with barriers to care, such as:
- High copays or deductibles
- Long commutes or busy work schedules, which prevent them from coming to the clinic often
- Those looking for a digital care experience
- Patients with secondary MSK conditions
With Pathways, you’re able to spend more time managing and caring for your high-complexity patients, while still delivering high-quality care to patients who don’t need as much in-person clinic time.
How does Pathways benefit my practice?
Pathways acts as a powerful assistant for your practice, helping you overcome common hurdles like patient engagement and program adoption. With Pathways, patients are more actively engaged outside the clinic through self-guided progressions, reminders, and interactive education, ensuring they stay on track between visits.
For clinicians, this means you’ll gain much deeper insights into your patients' activity and progress, allowing you to make more informed decisions about their care. Plus, Pathways saves you valuable time by streamlining the process of building and managing home exercise programs, enabling you to see more patients without sacrificing quality.
By automating lower-acuity patient care, you’ll have more time to focus on those with higher needs, while also opening up access to additional patients. Pathways frees up your day while giving you the insights and control to improve patient outcomes.
For more information on Pathways like “How does Pathways work with the rest of Medbridge’s Care products (HEP, RTM, Telehealth)?” or “Can patients access Pathways from the Medbridge GO app?” go to our Pathways: Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ).
Getting Started with Pathways
When should I use a pathway?
Pathways are ideal for low-acuity musculoskeletal (MSK) conditions, and we recommend assigning them early on—typically during the initial evaluation. Pathways should be your default option for treating conditions like knee or hip osteoarthritis, low back pain, and more.
For patients with higher acuity or more specific needs, you may opt for a traditional Home Exercise Program (HEP) to tailor the treatment more closely to their condition. In some cases, if a patient has multiple conditions, you could use both a Pathway and an HEP—where one condition is lower acuity and can be addressed through Pathways, and the other requires more specialized attention.
Pathways provide clinicians with time savings, better insights into patient progress, and enhanced patient engagement, all through evidence-based programs. For organizations, using Pathways reduces costs and opens new revenue streams, making it an efficient and impactful tool for both patient care and business growth.
What are some tips for getting started?
- Start with Pathways for MSK conditions: Use Pathways as your default option for patients with musculoskeletal conditions. If a patient requires more tailored care due to higher complexity, you can always adjust by switching to a traditional HEP to meet their unique needs.
- Preview the pathways: Familiarize yourself with each pathway before assigning it. This will not only boost your confidence in the content but also helps you educate your patients on the benefits and structure of their program, making them more likely to stay engaged.
- Assign yourself a program: Experience Pathways firsthand by assigning yourself a program. Seeing the patient experience from start to finish will help you understand how it works, making it easier to explain and demonstrate the value to your patients. For a closer look, check out our clickable demo experience to get started.
- Talk to patients about the value: When introducing Pathways, make sure to emphasize how it can help them stay on track, make progress between visits, and receive support through reminders and self-guided steps. Selling the value upfront can improve patient buy-in and adoption.
- Leverage text message invites: Our data shows that text message invites lead to higher patient activation rates. Use this method to ensure your patients get started on their pathway right away.
- Follow up weekly: Set reminders to check in with your patients at least once a week. These touchpoints are critical for keeping patients engaged, encouraging adherence, and tracking their progress through the program.
- Utilize both base and advanced pathways: Each condition includes both a base and advanced version, giving you the flexibility to match the pathway to your patient’s current needs and progress them to a more advanced level when appropriate.
For a deeper dive into Pathways features and functionality like “Can I preview a Pathway before assigning it?”, “Can I adjust Pathways exercises?”, and “How do reminders and AI motion capture work?” go to our Pathways: Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ).
Pathways Free Trial
How can I access the free trial?
We’re thrilled to hear you’re interested! Eligibility is based on several factors, including HEP subscription type. For more information on whether your organization qualifies, submit this short form.
How long does the free trial last?
The free trial of Pathways is available through December 31, 2024.
Will my patients continue to have access to their pathways after the trial ends?
Absolutely. Patients will continue to have access to any assigned pathways, and can progress through their care without interruption.
Will I still have access to my patients after the trial ends?
Yes! After your trial has ended, you will still have access to Pathways to view patient progress and PROs. You will not be able to invite new patients until you become a Pathways customer.
How do I purchase Pathways after the free trial is over? How much does it cost?
You can work with your Client Executive or submit a request here to get connected with our Account Team to purchase Pathways at any point during or after your trial.
With Pathways, you pay a single platform fee, which provides unlimited users, access to all features and programs, and a set number of episodes. Pricing is based on the number of episodes needed, which your Client Executive can work with you to determine. You may purchase additional bundles of episodes at any time.