Social distancing has fueled much innovation in the past year, especially when it comes to telehealth services. However, social isolation resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic has interrupted recovery for patients with opioid addiction. Some states have reported higher numbers of opioid deaths since widespread social distancing began in March 2020. TheraNow, a comprehensive telehealth rehabilitation and online physical therapy platform, supports safe social distancing while offering an opioid alternative to patients with chronic pain.
Users can access TheraNow via a mobile app or a web browser, where they book an initial appointment with a certified physical therapist or rehabilitation specialist. After this live session, the specialist designs a personalized treatment plan, including online rehab sessions, functional exercise, home fitness programs, and other tools available on the platform.
TheraNow doesn’t require a physician refferal, so anyone can use the service for any type of pain or injury. Some insurers may cover the service because it provides HIPAA-compliant programming supervised by a national network of rehabilitation specialists. TheraNow offers pain relief and recovery programs for acute and chronic pain, arthritis, sports injuries, and other osteopathic issues. Users can track their progress on the platform; as pain improves and the patient regains mobility and function, the specialist helps them adjust the customized program so that healing can progress.
In December 2020, responding to recent developments in the opioid crisis, the CDC issued new guidelines urging providers to minimize the use of opioid medications for pain management. TheraNow makes physical therapy available to anyone with access to the Internet: a solution that may bring non-pharmacological pain relief to medically underserved communities. That’s a big, important step that may even become a turning point in the opioid epidemic, which has had a devastating effect on so many individuals and families in America.
