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Final Program


Final Congress Guide

Specialty Development

900 Section - Telerehabilitation: Benefits and Barriers for Patients and Caregivers

Tuesday, May 19, 2026
6:00 PM - 7:30 PM PT
Objectives : Telehealth has gained significant popularity. Telehealth may be an underutilized tool in expanding access to physiatry care for patients. By having telerehabilitation available, patients can access healthcare from the comfort of their own homes. However, this shift may also place additional responsibilities on caregivers who oversee care at home. This study explores the benefits and gaps that both patients and caregivers experience during telerehabilitation.

Design: A narrative review of PubMed was conducted using keywords "telerehabilitation" and "caregivers." Only English-language articles from the last 10 years in the U.S. were included in this review. The literature search identified 244 articles total, of which 13 were included. The included studies consisted of observational studies, qualitative studies, and both systematic and narrative reviews.

Results: The studies collectively examine a broad spectrum of populations such as stroke, hip fracture, pediatric, and COPD patients. The studies report benefits of telerehabilitation such as overcoming transportation barriers, achieving clinical improvements at home that are comparable to conventional rehabilitation, and increasing therapy frequency. The literature also highlights gaps such as inconsistent communication with the rehabilitation team, limited technology access, insufficient caregiver training, lower compliance among children, and caregiver burden. Specifically, caregiver burden was described as increased workload at home and anxiety related to safety concerns such as falls. The literature provides limited information on payor sources for telerehabilitation.

Conclusion: This review highlights the potential of telerehabilitation while also identifying gaps, including in relation to caregiver burden. In order to optimize results, a hybrid model should be considered where in-person visits are paired with telerehabilitation while providing a standardized guide for caregivers while also addressing technology and connectivity issues at the patient’s homes. Further research is needed to better understand patient and caregiver concerns regarding telerehabilitation in order to improve the quality and accessibility of care.