How the NHS Embraces AI to Slash Back Pain Waiting Times
For a considerable period, prolonged wait times for physiotherapy have posed a significant issue for England's healthcare system.
Patients experiencing back pain often endure delays lasting several months before they receive their initial appointment.
However, the implementation of AI offers a solution.
AI-driven service Flok Health has achieved compelling results, decreasing the waiting lists for back pain by more than 55% within just 12 weeks.
What is Flok?
Flok Health, developed by a team of physiotherapy and AI experts in Cambridge, represents the first fully digital musculoskeletal (MSK) service in the UK to receive approval from the Care Quality Commission and certification as a medical device.
This service diverges from traditional methods by operating entirely via a smartphone app, offering immediate consultations that simulate an in-person video session with a physiotherapist.When launched in February, the CCS NHS trust became the first to integrate Flok extensively across the counties of Cambridgeshire and Peterborough.
This pilot initiative, part of the NHS' GIRFT Further Faster Programme, aimed to alleviate bottlenecks in MSK care access, an area often characterized by long waiting periods and unmet patient needs.
The benefits of Flok have been profound.
Initially, patients faced a wait of up to 18 weeks for an appointment. However, with digital interventions and community initiatives implemented throughout the Trust, wait times for MSK concerns were curtailed by 44% within just three months.
For back pain specifically, the Flok AI clinic reduced the backlog by 55%, conserving 856 clinician hours each month.
This achievement enabled same-day access to care for thousands of patients, significantly reducing waiting lists and freeing healthcare professionals to attend to other complex MSK conditions.
“What matters most to us is making sure patients get the right care quickly and safely and this pilot has shown that innovation like Flok can truly transform how we deliver services,” says Mike Passfield, Deputy Director from Cambridgeshire Community Services NHS Trust.
“This pilot has demonstrated how innovation, when safely and thoughtfully integrated into NHS pathways, can dramatically improve access, outcomes and patient experience.”
AI: Delivering quick, personalised and scalable care
The AI leverages advanced triage and treatment protocols, modelled on numerous real physiotherapy sessions – allowing more than 2,500 patients to access personalised back pain rehabilitation instantly.
Through the app, both clinician- and self-referral pathways are available, eliminating waiting periods.
As well as this, patients could start programmed stretches, exercises and pain management strategies on the day they registered.
Clinical data revealed that more than 98% of users completed their care online without needing further referrals for in-person treatment. This efficiency allowed physiotherapists to devote more time to more intricate cases, prioritising patients with the most need.
The digital-first protocol not only alleviated patient discomfort more swiftly but allowed NHS staff to concentrate on higher-acuity care, optimising the distribution and effectiveness of limited physiotherapy resources.
Moreover, the AI-driven experience garnered positive feedback, with eight in 10 patients viewing Flok as "equivalent or better" compared to traditional physiotherapy, with 78% ranking their experience as "good" or "very good," surpassing all expectations set by the Trust.
What can be learned from Flok
“Seeing the impact our service has had in Cambridgeshire and Peterborough – which is also where our team lives and works – has been incredibly meaningful,” says Finn Stevenson, Co-Founder and CEO of Flok Health.
“Our AI clinic enables patients to access world-class MSK care immediately, while freeing up traditional clinical capacity for patients who want or need to see a clinician in person.
"We look forward to continuing to work closely with our innovative NHS partners to deliver gold-standard, scalable MSK care to patients in Cambridgeshire and across the UK."
As digital healthcare solutions evolve, the accomplishments of Flok set a compelling example.
By combining AI with established clinical practices, the NHS is now able to deliver quicker, scalable and more satisfactory care, heralding a future where rapid, personalized physiotherapy is commonplace.
Additionally, Flok itself exemplifies the transformative potential of AI technology in healthcare delivery, offering immediate physiotherapy services via a smartphone app.
Saving more than 800 clinician hours monthly, Flok’s emphasis on AI integration, real-time monitoring and data-driven personalisation underscores the capacity for scalable and efficient healthcare services without compromising on patient satisfaction.
