mymobility With Apple Watch Reduces Need for Traditional PT?

Zimmer Biomet recently rolled out the red carpet at the 2022 American Association of Hip and Knee Surgeons Annual Meeting in Dallas, announcing that their one-year data indicates that mymobility with Apple Watch gives similar results as traditional physical therapy (PT) for patients undergoing total knee replacement (TKR).

According to the study results, using mymobility with Apple Watch after TKR helps guide rehabilitation, produces patient outcomes which are comparable to traditional care models, and significantly reduces the number of outpatient physical therapy visits. The researchers also found that mymobility with Apple Watch was associated with significantly fewer surgery-related emergency department visits, which, indicate the authors, could translate to lower costs of care.

The study enrolled 401 patients who underwent total or partial knee arthroplasty and randomized them to either mymobility with Apple Watch exercise and educational platform group, or a control group (traditional PT).

According to Zimmer Biomet, the study sponsor, the key findings included:

• “Patients in the mymobility with Apple Watch group who did not require adjunct PT had significantly higher Knee injury and Osteoarthritis Outcome Score, Joint Replacement, JR scores compared to controls at one year post-operatively (89.3±11.3 vs 83.8±14.6).

• Significantly fewer patients in the mymobility with Apple Watch group required post-operative physical therapy (60.6% vs. 94.6%).

• Overall KOOS, JR scores were similar between control group and mymobility with Apple Watch group at one year (83.8±14.6 vs 84.1 ±14.0).

• The change in Knee injury and Osteoarthritis Outcome Score, Joint Replacement, JR scores from pre-operative levels were similar at one year for the control group and the mymobility with Apple Watch group (32.1±17.4 vs 31.5±17.1 points).

• Significantly fewer patients in the mymobility with Apple Watch group utilized surgery-related emergency department/urgent care compared to the control group (1.3% vs 5.4%).

• Similar rates of readmission were observed between the mymobility with Apple Watch group and the control group (3.8% vs 2.1%).”

According to David A. Crawford, M.D., one of the study’s lead investigators and a joint replacement specialist at Joint Implant Surgeons Orthopedics in New Albany, Ohio, “As a whole, my patients who utilize mymobility with Apple Watch after surgery feel more connected to me and my team through the in-app messaging and virtual visits.”

“In addition, they value the convenience of being able to participate in rehabilitation exercises from home and tracking the changes in their step count and gait on a day-to-day basis. Having access to their own mobility data gives patients comfort and motivation to adhere to the rehab regimen and more actively participate in their recovery.”

OTW asked Robert Kraal, VP and general manager of Connected Health at Zimmer Biomet, about the effect on costs of mymobility: “This study did not include a comparative analysis of costs. However, the statistically significant reductions in post-operative PT use and surgery-related emergency/urgent care associated with the patients in the mymobility group suggest a lower utilization of healthcare resources which can result in cost savings per episode of care.”

“This is one of the first large-scale randomized controlled clinical trials that was able to show that using a smartphone-based remote care model didn’t compromise outcomes at one-year post surgery, and in fact significantly reduced the need for post-operative physical therapy and surgery-related emergency/urgent care, which impact overall cost of care per episode. What’s exciting is that we have one-year data to start validating smartphone-based platforms as an alternative to traditional care after surgery.”