Educating and engaging customers with the ActivPanel
A bit of background
True Physio was born out of a commitment from the founders to provide physiotherapy ‘properly’. From the beginning, conversations were about how it could provide physiotherapy, massages and foot care at exceptional levels in both clinical care and customer service, whilst ensuring every patient gains maximum benefit from assessments and treatments.
The team has a vision to improve the lives of people in the communities they are part of. From the founders’ many years of experience, they have grown to understand that whilst patients want to be free of their pain, the real goal is far more personal with a long-term outlook. True Physio values the time, investment and trust its customers put into services and prides itself on the support it delivers.
There are currently two True Physio clinics, one in Sale, South Manchester and one in Whalley, Clitheroe.
Key considerations
The ethos True Physio has, to do physio but ‘properly’, meant that the founders wanted to create the very best experience for customers, allowing them to make the most out of the services offered. When opening the first two clinics, the founders were keen to look for a way to engage customers with their treatment, rather than just being spoken to and shown models or diagrams.
As the founders were connected with teaching professionals in their wider network, the benefits of IFPDs (interactive flat panel displays) in schools was brought to their attention. They had heard about how effective IFPDs are in educating and engaging students across various subjects and wanted to adopt a similar model to educate their customers. Using an IFPD had the potential to give customers a better understanding of complex topics such as anatomy and treatment, and in turn, improve customer outcomes.
In the physiotherapy industry cancellations are increasingly common, largely down to a combination of customers’ busy schedules and a lack of understanding of the benefits of physio. By engaging customers in their treatment, this would have the potential to reduce cancellations and improve clinic processes.
On recommendation from the teacher contacts, True Physio got in touch with Promethean to explore what the ActivPanel interactive display could offer. Promethean invited True Physio to receive a demonstration and referred them to a Platinum Partner, who attended one of the clinics to carry out an assessment to find the best solution for the physiotherapy rooms.
Why the ActivPanel Interactive Display?
Following the consultation to discuss how the ActivPanel could enhance interactivity and education in physio sessions, True Physio made the decision to implement the 70” ActivPanel in both of its physio centres. The choice to select the panel was on conclusion of the on-site assessment, the display would provide a large enough surface for customers and practitioners to interact with, without dominating the space. Subsequently the True Physio team were provided with orientation training sessions so that they can utilise the ActivPanel’s capabilities in the most effective ways possible with their customers.
“The support we have been provided with from the initial point of contact through to aftercare has been first class. The wealth of knowledge about the ActivPanel and the resources available, demonstrated to us through the orientation training, has been instrumental in allowing us to integrate the technology into not only our physio rooms but into our working practices,” said Andy Byrne, Director of True Physio.
True Physio uses a range of medical and anatomy apps on the ActivPanel which allow practitioners to demonstrate more complex topics such as muscle movement to customers. Images and diagrams in apps can be annotated using the instant whiteboarding tool to further expand on information and help the customer to understand the diagnosis and solution.
“We knew that we would like to use apps and resources to educate and support our customers. One of the reasons for choosing the ActivPanel was the extensive range of apps and resources available. The Android system essentially turns the panel into a giant tablet which allows us to use it independently without connecting it to an external device, which is also great for ease of use,” commented Andy.
True Physio uses ActivCast to mirror content from mobile phones and tablets on to the ActivPanel. As part of some treatment programmes, customers are video recorded in their initial assessment to highlight the problems. By mirroring the video onto the panel, the practitioner can annotate and highlight parts of the video to diagnose the problems and explain the best course of treatment. The customer is then video recorded again in 3 weeks’ time and the footage mirrored to the panel, this time to identify improvements. By demonstrating advances in this way, even when the customer is still experiencing some pain, they can see the progress they are making, and this inspires them to continue with treatment and improve their health.
With the ActivPanel, customers have a far better understanding of their treatment and this motivates them to be more engaged and committed to their exercises. A notable value is added by educating customers to understand the detail of their diagnosis and improve their health benefits long term. Customers of all ages enjoy learning about their health through interactive sessions on the ActivPanel.
Better education means better compliance with exercise routines and more notable improvements. By seeing and interacting with diagrams and videos on the ActivPanel, the customers can practice the exercises more accurately at home.
“The investment in the ActivPanel has been extremely worthwhile for True Physio in aiding treatment, and from a business perspective it has successfully supported a reduction in the number of cancellations. We plan to implement the ActivPanel in all of our physio centres going forward, to continue championing innovative treatment through education and interactivity,” concluded Andy.
*Promethean partner was LEB Partnership
Would your business benefit from a Promethean ActivPanel?
Promethean provides free advice and consultation on education technology, all free of charge. If you would like to speak to one of our experts, or arrange a free demonstration, please schedule a virtual demonstration.