⚡ Quick Summary

NHS Lothian in Scotland has launched a pilot program for an AI-powered physiotherapy clinic, making it accessible to nearly one million patients in the Lothian region. This initiative aims to enhance patient care through innovative technology.

💡 Key Features and Benefits

• 🔑 Personalized Treatment: The AI clinic, named Flok Health, utilizes video footage of a human physiotherapist to provide tailored treatment options in a format resembling a structured video call.
• ⚙️ First of Its Kind: Flok Health is the first digital musculoskeletal (MSK) clinic to receive approval from the Care Quality Commission (CQC).
• 📊 Positive Patient Feedback: In recent trials, 100% of patients reported that their experience with the AI physiotherapist was at least as good as that with a human physiotherapist, with 86% noting symptom improvement.

👩‍⚕️ Implementation and Access

• Patients registered with any of the 126 GP practices in NHS Lothian can self-refer to the Flok digital MSK clinic through existing self-referral portals.
• Appointments can be scheduled via the Flok app, allowing patients to access physiotherapy services on the same day.

🚀 Integration with NHS Services

• The AI clinic integrates data sharing with other NHS services to ensure coordinated care for patients and clinicians.
• Flok Health manages the entire patient journey, from initial assessment to treatment delivery and discharge, while documenting all interactions in an electronic health record.

📅 Future Plans

• The pilot program will assess and treat patients with back pain initially, with plans to expand services to cover additional musculoskeletal conditions.
• Ongoing collaboration with NHS Lothian and Health Innovation Hub, South East Scotland, will explore further integration of digital health solutions.

🔗 Sources

• UK’s first AI physio clinic trialled by NHS Lothian
• First NHS physiotherapy clinic run by AI to start this year | The Guardian