» Health system engages remote therapy provider to cut down on referral loss
Luna, a provider of in-home physical therapy, announced in March that it had launched a
partnership with Providence, a Western US not-for-profit health system that includes several skilled nursing facilities. Luna’s technology platform will expand access to outpatient physical therapy for Providence patients being discharged.
The platform allows patients and physical therapists to communicate and discuss care needs between visits. The same therapist will treat the person for the entirety of the treatment plan. People also will use the platform to make appointments and perform prescribed and monitored exercises between virtual visits.
The partnership is expected to reduce the number of referrals that go outside the system. A 2021 Luna study found US health systems lose an estimated $2.5 billion in potential revenue from therapy referrals.
“Luna’s in-home physical therapy provides relief for health systems operating at capacity and needing more access,” said Palak Shah, co-founder and head of clinical operations at Luna.
» Resistance training urged for sarcopenia
Older adults with age-related skeletal muscle loss, or sarcopenia, improved their sleep and inflammatory status when participating in a 12-week course of resistance exercise, a study found.
Sarcopenia has been found to affect 15% of adults aged 60 or more years and 46% of those aged 80 and older, according to Brazilian researchers.
Investigators examined how resistance training could help address links between sarcopenia, sleep deprivation and age-related inflammation. Fourteen participants with diagnosed sarcopenia and an average age of 75 took part in training three times per week for three months, assisted by physical therapists, nutritionists and physicians. Exercises worked large muscle groups, progressing from moderate intensity to 80% of maximum force in the last eight weeks.
Participants improved on all metrics of muscle strength, including handgrip and leg torque, as well as sleep quality and inflammation.
Full findings were published in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health.
