Can AI help with physio-patient rapport?
While physiotherapists often excel in clinical expertise, it is the soft skills such as rapport, empathy, communication and motivation that determine whether patients stay engaged or self-discharge, and with AI reducing admin and supporting personalised care, clinicians can focus more on building the meaningful connections that drive long-term recovery.
Would you keep going back to a physio who you didn’t feel understood you?
Perhaps they understood your injury in great detail, but they missed the mark when it came to building a real connection with you as a person, and understanding your goals, fears and lifestyle.
As physios, I believe we are inherently caring, social and empathetic people. But so much of our training (both at uni and later in our careers) revolves around knowledge, skills, pathophysiology and research-driven decisions.
This quest for expertise in the musculoskeletal system can sometimes result in us missing nuances with our patients that could be the difference between them recovering completely, or self-discharging from our care.
I’m talking about the soft skills that set apart good therapists from extraordinary therapists. Things like:
I know I’m not blowing anyones minds by touting the importance of these attributes, but 99% of the online conversations I read in physio communities are about which exercises or manual therapy techniques are “right” for a particular condition.
Whilst the right treatment techniques are no doubt an important piece of the puzzle, I believe developing a deep connection with our clients is the only way that we give ourselves enough time with them to create meaningful change to their health and wellbeing. It’s the only way that we will be able to motivate and influence them to make decisions that support their recovery.
Otherwise, we become just another health professional they saw a few times, instead of the long-term ally that helped them transform their health.
AI products like Preve enable deeper relationship building by reminding practitioners of important insights in real-time, improving eye contact and non-verbal communication by removing admin tasks, and building individual treatment plans in seconds.
They also enable clear expectation setting with patients, by instantly generating patient education resources, and provide support and motivation in between sessions.
It may feel contradictory hearing “AI” and “building deeper physio-patient connections” in the same sentence, but in reality it can transform patient care delivery, both in the treatment room and in between appointments.