First NHS AI-run physio clinic in England halves back-pain waiting list
AI platform Flok Health to be rolled out to other NHS trusts but experts warn tech-based care could increase health inequalities
The first NHS AI-run physiotherapy clinic has halved the waiting list for back pain and musculoskeletal services, according to the NHS trust where the pilot has taken place.
More than 2,500 patients living in Cambridgeshire and Peterborough were able to access Flok Health, a physiotherapy platform run by AI, over a 12-week period starting in February.
The platform, which was created using video footage of a human physiotherapist, provides same-day automated video appointments with a digital physiotherapist via an app that responds to information given by a patient in real time.
When the clinic was first launched in Cambridgeshire, waiting times for elective community musculoskeletal (MSK) services in the region were about 18 weeks.
The waiting times for all MSK conditions decreased by 44% over the course of the 12-week period due to the use of Flok combined with other initiatives such as community assessment days, according to Cambridgeshire Community Services NHS trust (CCS), which deployed the services in those areas of England.
