Physiotherapists working for Colchester-based First Point Physio have gained access to a range of AI treatments after the company teamed up with health-tech innovator DocHQ.

According to Phillip Dale, a physiotherapist by background who co-founded First Point Physio in 2017, the deal enables physios to gain a ‘superpower’.

Over the past eight years, First Point Physio has evolved from running a single clinic for 30 hours a week in Haverhill, Suffolk, to operating in more than 160 GP practices. The company’s 85-plus staff are based in practices in the Midlands, and in south east and southern England. 

Phillip, the company’s chief executive officer, said: ‘Our service is all about taking pressure away from overstretched resources. This now gives us a superpower.

‘It speeds up the whole journey from injury to getting back to normal and avoids a lot of the waste we see with unnecessary in-person appointments.’

Speeding up discharge

The partnership means that DocHQ’s services will now be available to patients outside the private health sector. As well as the convenience of not having to travel to follow-up appointments, DocHQ’s interactive online treatment plans are said to attract more than double twice the normal adherence rates (70-90 per cent) and cut weeks off the average time it takes to discharge patients, DocHQ stated.

Physiotherapists can access AI computer-vision technology to help them when assessing patients’ needs and deliver a choice of 600 pre-loaded workouts designed specifically for about 80 conditions.

The workouts can be accessed from any home device with a camera (such as a phone or laptop). The system collects data from 111 body points in real-time that physios can use to fast-track progress, fine-tune exercises and, ultimately, discharge patients.

‘Our service is all about taking pressure away from overstretched resources. This now gives us a superpower’ [Phillip Dale]

A ‘game-changing’ initiative

Madhur Srivastava, DocHQ’s founder and chief executive officer, said: ‘This is a game-changer in offering personalised, patient-centric and engaging treatment plans at scale.

‘You have immediate, real-time feedback, rather than waiting for in-person appointments and relying on photocopied exercises that are frequently ignored. So, adherence rates are higher and recovery time lower, benefiting both the patients and the professionals treating them.’

Since becoming a physiotherapist in 2001, Phillip has gained wide experience at a director level, mainly from a financial, commercial and strategic perspective He specialises in the field of musculoskeletal physiotherapy.

For more information about First Point Physio, visit: https://firstpointphysio.co.uk/

For more information about DocHQ, visit: https://dochq.co.uk/ 

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