Patient-reported outcomes during telehealth versus in-person follow-up visits for patients treated with extracorporeal shockwave therapy.

Background: The limited research describing clinical outcomes using telehealth for management of musculoskeletal conditions is primarily within orthopedic surgery care.

Objective: To characterize differences in patient reported outcomes using telehealth compared with in-person follow-up visits in patients with Achilles tendinopathy (AT) or plantar fasciitis (PF) treated using extracorporeal shockwave therapy (ESWT).

Design: Retrospective chart review.

Setting: Outpatient sports medicine clinic.

Patients: 82 patients with AT and 46 patients with PF.

Interventions: In-person (n = 76) and telehealth (n = 52) follow-up visits.

Main Outcome Measurements: Victorian Institute of Sports Assessment-Achilles (VISA-A) for AT and Foot and Ankle Ability Measure (FAAM) for PF as well as billing level.

Results: There was significant improvement from baseline to final VISA-A (p < .01) and FAAM (p < .01) following ESWT. No significant difference existed in the proportion of patients who met the minimal clinically important difference based on in-person (71.1%) versus telehealth (71.2%) follow-up (p = .99). The in-person group demonstrated higher billing levels compared to the telehealth group (Level: 3.5 ± 0.6 vs. 2.8 ± 0.7, p < .01).

Conclusions: Given no significant differences in outcomes between two modes of follow-ups, telehealth may serve as an alternative method to guide management of musculoskeletal injuries with ESWT and other procedures.