DocHQ, the leading wellness partner founded in 2018, is pleased to announce the successful receipt of a prestigious research grant from the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR). This significant milestone marks a critical step forward in DocHQ’s mission to transform healthcare through innovation and technology.
With the vision of creating a healthcare system that is information-based, technology-based and accessible to everyone, DocHQ tirelessly builds a human-centric, high-quality and integrated healthcare network. The company’s latest project, the AI Physio Study, aims to address the urgent needs of patients awaiting orthopedic surgery within the NHS.
“DocHQ Physio promises to significantly improve both patient experience and rehabilitation outcomes during the prehab and postoperative phases,” affirms Madhur Srivastava, CEO of DocHQ. “Our working hypothesis is that patients on the NHS waiting list can benefit significantly from DocHQ Physio. We aim to validate this claim through our careful research.”
The NIHR i4i innovate connect fast grant will enable DocHQ to conduct comprehensive studies to assess the health and economic impact of the innovative physio tool. The goal of the study is to collect patient feedback, assess tool acceptance, and understand how the solution can better serve patients, physical therapists, and orthopedic surgeons. These findings will form the basis for future studies and support DocHQ’s ongoing clinical partnerships to bring the solution to market.
The UK faces major challenges in treating musculoskeletal disorders, which affect over 20 million people nationwide. While exercise is known to be the most effective approach, low adherence rates, limited physical therapist availability, and long wait times impede optimal care. DocHQ Physio’s groundbreaking AI tool addresses these challenges by asynchronously tracking patient progress, enabling timely adjustments to treatment plans, and minimizing the need for follow-up appointments and secondary surgeries.
“Through this grant, we will explore how proactive AI exercises can alter the effectiveness of physical therapy and thereby improve patient outcomes of their physical therapy,” said Tiggy Corben, director of physical therapy at DocHQ. “Patients often don’t do their physical exercises because they are unsure of what to do and lack confidence that they are doing it right. AI exercises give them feedback so their exercise techniques can be corrected immediately.”
Corben adds: “With DocHQ Physio, physiotherapists can see not only if the patient is performing the exercises, but also how accurately they are performing them. This allows for remote and cost-effective adjustment of their treatment program.”
DocHQ Physio aims to empower physical therapists by enabling remote consultations and AI-driven online treatment plans that allow patients’ progress to be monitored and their exercises updated as needed to improve patient effectiveness and recovery times .
The AI Physio Research Project encompasses qualitative and quantitative studies, including observational research, impact assessments, and health economic assessments. The planned research for the second phase of the project includes a prospective cohort study, a health economic assessment and an implementation study to assess the clinical efficacy, economic value and integration of the product into the healthcare system.
“DocHQ Physio empowers both patients and physiotherapists by providing real-time corrective feedback and personalized treatment plans,” says Srivastava. “By combining digital and AI technologies with existing processes, we can improve exercise compliance, accelerate access to healthcare and improve patient outcomes.”
DocHQ is proud to partner with leading institutions to advance the field of AI and telemedicine with the goal of increasing adherence rates and reducing recovery times. Peer studies have shown promising results, including significantly improved adherence rates compared to current procedures and significant weight loss success with telemedicine-based programs.
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Contact
For more information or to participate in the study, please contact:
DocHQ study leader:
Madhur Srivastava
Email: Madhur.srivastava@dochq.co.uk
Tel: 07527 126828
DocHQ study support:
Janet Webber
Email: Janet.webber@dochq.co.uk
Tel: 07768 582787
DocHQ Media Inquiries:
Melanie Rutherford
Email: melanie.rutherford@dochq.co.uk
Tel: 07791 750301
Notes for editors
About DocHQ
DocHQ is your partner in wellbeing. As a UK provider of employee benefits, our vision is to empower people to make informed health choices and inspire them to improve the quality of their lives. We are a specialist medical technology company with a mission to improve employee well-being at work and at home, and to connect businesses, providers and consumers through technology.
From employee health and wellness programs to physical wellbeing at work and at home, DocHQ combines medical expertise and technology to provide services and solutions for wellbeing in a post-pandemic world. By developing a network of private clinics and providers across Europe, we offer a range of employee benefits including physiotherapy, health checks, fitness, nutrition and travel health.
About NIHR
The mission of the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) is to improve the nation’s health and wealth through research by:
- Funding quality, timely research that benefits the NHS, public health and social care
- Invest in world-class expertise, facilities and skilled delivery staff to translate discoveries into enhanced treatments and services
- We collaborate with patients, service users, caregivers and communities to improve the relevance, quality and impact of our research
- Attracting, training and supporting the best researchers to solve complex health and social challenges
- Collaborate with other public funders, charities and industry to help shape a coherent and globally competitive research system
- Funding applied global health research and education to meet the needs of the poorest in low- and middle-income countries
NIHR is funded by the Department of Health and Social Care. His work in low- and middle-income countries is funded primarily by UK government aid.
