What is a Home Exercise Program Software for Physical Therapy Practices?

Adherence is the biggest driver of a speedy recovery and desired outcomes. Yet, many patients struggle to stay consistent with their PT sessions and exercise plan, which results in a much slower recovery rate. 

Utilizing Home Exercise Program (HEP) software simplifies exercise plans with personalized exercise videos, an expansive library, an intuitive patient portal, and automated reminders. For a great patient experience, clinicians are empowered with features such as full visibility into patient adherence, real-time progress tracking, and secure patient-therapist messaging.

Understanding Home Exercise Program (HEP) Software 

Home Exercise Program (HEP) software allows physical therapists to create and assign customized exercise plans for patients to use at home. Patients can watch clear video demonstrations, follow personalized exercise instructions, and receive automated reminders to stay consistent. Once they complete their routines, the software tracks their progress, allowing therapists to determine pain levels or provide feedback.

With HEP software, therapists can track adherence to treatment in real-time, adjust routines based on observed performance, while maintaining clear communication throughout the recovery process.

Benefits of HEP Software for Physical Therapy Practices

Here are some of the benefits of HEP software for physical therapy practices:

Improves Patient Adherence

Relying heavily on in-person sessions, phone check-ins, and paper-based exercise brochures often results in patients skipping sessions. According to a study, non-adherence in physiotherapy can be as high as 70%, especially in unsupervised home exercise programs. 

Home Exercise Program software keeps PT patients motivated and consistent with their routine. It guides patients throughout their recovery process with features such as personalized exercise videos, automated reminders, push notifications, progress tracking, and real-time feedback.

Real-Time Visibility

Not knowing if your patients follow through with their exercise routines and improvement in treatments can undermine treatment outcomes. Therapists are often forced to rely on patients' memories and verbal check-ins during sessions, which can be inaccurate.

HEP software eliminates this blind spot by giving practice owners real-time visibility into patient adherence and performance. Therapists can walk into every session with information, such as completed exercises, tracking consistency, and progress barriers.

Zero IT Headaches

HEP software removes the IT headaches that come with juggling multiple logins, separate subscriptions, and fragmented systems. Instead of bouncing between different apps for exercises, progress updates, messaging, and reminders, everything patients need lives in one unified platform. 

HEP Software vs. Traditional Paper Handouts

HEP software transforms patient engagement with interactive videos, progress check-ins, and automated reminders. It also offers secure two-way messaging for seamless communication between therapists and patients. On the other hand, traditional paper handouts rely on checkboxes, progress charts, and diagrams, which are usually ineffective, resulting in low patient engagement.  

Besides preloaded exercise libraries, HEP software also offers a personalized patient experience. It allows therapists to record or upload custom videos and curate each routine to each patient’s needs. In traditional paper handouts, therapists struggle with patient experience as the system relies on reprinted, redistributed brochures. 

Lastly, HEP software mitigates the risks of losing vital data to a lost or changed device. It stores all exercise plans and patient progress in the cloud, which is accessible anytime on any device. Traditional paper handouts are easily prone to loss, misplacement, or damage. 

What to Look for in a Physical Therapy HEP Software

Choosing the right Home Exercise Program (HEP) software keeps patients active, consistent, and confident in their recovery. Understanding the features that matter most helps you choose a HEP software that supports your workflow and patient outcomes

Here are some of the features that make a great HEP solution: 

Interactive Exercise Library 

While in-person clinic visitation builds trust and rapport, barriers such as mobility difficulties and scheduling conflicts make it challenging for patients to adhere to their treatment routine consistently. 

HEP software like PtEverywhere offers an interactive exercise library. This helps patients stay on track with a treatment plan, which leads to better patient outcomes. 

Automated Reminder

Using spreadsheets and sticky notes for appointment booking, rescheduling, last-minute cancellation, and no-shows can be a lot for practice owners. Patients start missing appointments, which often leads to inconsistencies and a slower recovery time.

A Home Exercise Program prompts patients to complete their routine by sending timely and personalized reminders. With these gentle nudges, therapists won’t necessarily need to follow up with phone calls or emails.  

Cloud-Based Storage 

PT clinics handle countless patient records, exercise plans, and other vital documents. When those files live on paper or local hardware, an accidental deletion or a malware attack can wipe out years of work.

A cloud-based HEP solution keeps all your data secure, backed up, and always accessible. If something goes wrong, you can recover information quickly from any authorized device.

Create and Upload Personalized Videos

Generic instruction videos might not align with a patient’s specific needs or a therapist’s preferred approach. With PtEverywhere, practice owners can create or upload high-definition demos, import from Vimeo or YouTube, or pull from hundreds of professionally shot exercises. Each video can also be tagged by body part, rehab phase, tissue type, or treatment goal, making it easy for patients to access.

Analytics Dashboard

HEP software eliminates guesswork with progress tracking and analytics. It provides real-time insight into treatment effectiveness, adherence, pain levels, mobility improvements, and overall engagement.

How PtEverywhere Supports Your Home Exercise Programs

Patient experience shouldn’t be limited to in-person visits. PtEverywhere empowers patients outside the clinics with personalized exercise videos and easy access to their routines. Practice owners can also create or upload exercise videos in seconds, set automated reminders, and track adherence data, all without adding a single minute of end-of-day administrative work.

Ready to elevate your HEP experience? Request a demo to see it in action.