Preparing for Hybrid Care: Laying the Groundwork for Digital Transformation

While healthcare organizations and clinicians are aligned in their mission to improve patient outcomes, how they arrive at that goal day to day isn’t always the same. Organizations have to address business initiatives by emphasizing efficiency, reducing costs, providing access to care and managing population health. Whereas clinicians are focused on the daily task of providing quality care for their patients while navigating busy schedules. Digital technology can help healthcare organizations and clinicians align these goals to make sure each of their needs are met while still fulfilling their ultimate shared mission of improving patient outcomes. 

One of the most potent strategies to achieve this mission is using digital healthcare tools in a hybrid care program. From communication to commerce to transportation, nearly every other industry has experienced a rapid shift toward using digital tools. A similar shift in healthcare is not only inevitable; it’s already happening. Studies have shown that digital health technologies guided by a physical therapist deliver ″clinically meaningful improvements in pain and function″ for patients with musculoskeletal conditions,¹ but many healthcare organizations are still lagging behind when it comes to adopting digital care tools.

Hybrid care platforms like Medbridge Pathways provide a digital MSK solution that delivers effective and engaging clinical programs for musculoskeletal care, fall prevention, pelvic health, and orthopedic surgery. Each program consists of progressive, standardized pathways made up of condition-specific assessments, exercise, AI-enabled motion capture assessments, and education that can be managed by providers in a hybrid or independent care model.

Hybrid care has the power to empower clinicians and patients beyond what traditional in-person only care can achieve, but to achieve digital adoption and get started with platforms like Pathways, organizations have to help their clinical teams to buy in and adopt these tools. Here are four steps to lay the groundwork for digital transformation.

Step 1: Establish a Digital-Forward Mindset

Despite the prevalence of digital care tools and technology in our daily lives, many practices still rely on paper-based handouts—especially for home exercise programs. Many patients and clinicians are comfortable with paper programs because it's what they’re used to, but you wouldn’t hold up a series of flash cards to demonstrate an exercise in person when you could just demonstrate with your own body. So why would we choose a series of static images over a video demonstration just because the patient is at home? 

Breaking old habits isn’t easy, so transitioning to digital tools will have to start with change management. Much like rehabbing from an injury, change management takes time, a well-structured plan, and consistent follow-through—and as clinicians, we know change can be difficult. Getting your patients comfortable with digital workflows means getting your staff on board first.

Action Steps:

• Start by encouraging clinicians to use Medbridge HEP with digital sharing instead of printouts. Digital sharing is critical—treat digital as the default, and don’t print paper programs unless the patient specifically requests it.

• Host a staff meeting to discuss the benefits of digital tools and gather concerns. Because clinicians are so busy, it’s important to emphasize the efficiency of digital tools vs. paper. For example, digital demonstrations can’t be lost as they’re always available on the patients’ computer or phone. 

• Identify quick wins—small, low-effort changes that make digital workflows easier. For example, digital programs can be updated in real time to remain accurate as the patient progresses, and they offer a way for patients and providers to track progress. It’s also more environmentally friendly, and saves on printer paper and ink!

Step 2: Define the Problems You’re Trying to Solve

Adopting digital technology like Pathways isn’t just about adding technology—it’s about addressing key practice challenges. Without a clear problem to solve, digital adoption can be perceived as adding an unnecessary process on top of clinicians’ busy workloads. That’s why it’s important to identify and define how digital care helps.

First, explain how it improves patient experience and outcomes. Evidence shows that both in-person PT and digital PT are effective,² but physical-therapist guided digital solutions improve patients’ pain and function more than traditional care.³ Hybrid care is the most flexible and efficient way to provide the best care for each individual patient, regardless of their clinical needs or personal preferences. They’re also good at generating new supplemental revenue streams—for example, incorporating remote therapeutic monitoring (RTM) can offer additional financial incentives that help offset the cost of digital platforms and other operational costs while helping to keep patients engaged between visits—a win-win for clinicians and organizations.

Action Steps:

• First, identify the top challenges that digital tools could help solve. For example, you could seek to address patient engagement between visits, quality outcomes, revenue generating opportunities, and patient access.

• Then, conduct a quick staff survey to understand their biggest pain points in patient care. This can include the amount of work to create a custom HEP, a lack of time with patients to impart adequate education, too many patients, inability to get patients in for follow-up, or low patient compliance with home exercise programs.

• Finally, review patient feedback to see where gaps in engagement or access exist to close the loop and see what you can start addressing with digital tools. Hybrid care helps to solve common barriers to accessing care including patient distance from the clinic, scheduling with busy home schedules, and high-cost patient responsibility such as co-pays and deductibles.

Step 3: Get Staff Buy-In Early

Clinicians are the ones who will implement digital tools like Pathways, so their buy-in is crucial. With that in mind, leadership must bridge the gap between their high-level business goals and clinician priorities by understanding and communicating their purpose as well as acknowledging and validating clinicians’ priorities. Staff care about patient outcomes and reducing busywork, not operational efficiency. That’s why it's important to position hybrid care as a solution to their pain points, not just another task to add to their workload. This can be helped along by engaging staff in workflow discussions early—listen to their concerns and integrate their input into the implementation plan.

Action Steps:

• Meet with a small group of clinicians to discuss what would make their jobs easier.

• Frame Pathways as a tool that reduces busywork and improves patient outcomes.

• Assign a clinician champion—someone who will help lead the transition and advocate for staff concerns.

Want additional help getting your staff to buy in? The Digital Health Academy helps clinicians level up their digital health delivery skills with flexible, customizable education programs ranging from digital care basics to expert strategies.

Step 4: Prepare for Workflow Adjustments

Implementing Pathways will require some level of workflow change, even in practices already using digital tools. You can acknowledge that change is difficult, but the benefits gained will outweigh the losses—the ‘way we’ve always done it’ can be comfortable, but that doesn’t mean it's still the best way. To help, leaders should proactively map out integration points:

• How will Pathways fit into the current evaluation and treatment process?

• What steps will need to change, and how will clinicians be supported in that transition?

• What training and resources will be available to ensure a smooth adoption?

Then, organizations can:

• Identify one key workflow change Pathways will require and outline a transition plan.

• Create a simple checklist for staff to follow when using Pathways in patient care.

• Plan a pilot phase with a small group of patients before full implementation.

Get an inside look at how two Medbridge clients, Sentara Health and Corewell Health, facilitated a culture change within their organizations to drive successful implementation for their clinicians in this recorded webinar: Embracing Digital Care: Shifting Clinician Mindsets for Future Success.

Conclusion

Successfully implementing Pathways isn’t just about adopting new technology—it’s about building a digital-forward practice leveraging hybrid models that improves patient care, enhances efficiency, and supports financial sustainability. Practices that start now—by shifting mindsets, identifying key problems, engaging staff, and planning workflows—will be best positioned to seamlessly integrate digital care solutions when the time comes.

To learn more about how Pathways can help your organization, request a demo.



<sub>References:
1. APTA, 2024
2-3 Peterson Health Technology Institute. Virtual Musculoskeletal (MSK) Solutions Assessment Report. June 2024</sub>