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Physiotherapy software: is your EHR's exercise module enough?

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Search for "physiotherapy software" and most of what you find is practice software: the electronic health record, or EHR, that holds your notes, your schedule and your billing. That makes sense, because it is the system your practice runs on. And many EHRs also do something with home exercises, through a module of their own or a link with an exercise program.

So the question is rarely whether your software can send exercises home. It is whether it does that well enough for the part of the treatment your patient does alone.

Your EHR is the GP of your software

A GP has to know a little about everything, and usually knows it well. When a problem needs more, they refer to a specialist. That is not a weakness. It is the job.

Your EHR works the same way. It keeps the record, plans the week, sends the claims, produces the reports, and somewhere on that list it also builds exercise programs. It has to do all of that well, and so it can't specialise in everything the way a program that does one thing can. You choose an EHR on what only an EHR does: billing, clinical notes and data security. The exercise module is rarely what decides it.

For most parts a generalist is fine. Your patient never sees how a claim is sent. The exercise program is different: your patient has to work with it on their own, at home, without you there to explain it.

Why the exercise part deserves a closer look

A large part of the result is decided at home, and a lot gets lost on the way there.

  • Patients forget. According to a widely cited review, they forget 40 to 80 percent of what a clinician tells them right away (Kessels, 2003).
  • Many patients don't do their program. A 2024 overview of systematic reviews states that non-adherence in physiotherapy can run as high as 70 percent, particularly in unsupervised home exercise programs (Ley & Putz, 2024).
  • The format matters. In a randomised study, the group that learned the exercises from a paper handout made more than twice as many errors as the groups taught by video or live (Reo & Mercer, 2004).

Software does not solve that on its own. Digital support probably helps adherence in the short term; over longer periods the evidence is thin (Lang et al., 2022). And the quality of exercise apps varies widely (Merolli et al., 2024). That is exactly why it pays to test the module you have, rather than assume it is good because it is there. There is more on the research in Are your patients actually doing their exercises? and on our research page.

Eight questions to test your EHR's exercise module

The test takes ten minutes. Build a program for a patient you saw this week, send it to your own phone, and open it the way that patient would.

  1. How does your patient open it? With an app, an account and a password, or with a link that opens in the browser? Every extra step is a moment where someone gives up, especially someone older or unused to apps.
  2. How long did it take you? Time a normal program of five or six exercises. If building it takes longer than explaining it, it gets skipped on a busy day.
  3. Did you find the exercises in your own words? Search the way you talk: "clamshell", "bridge", "chin tuck". A library you can't find anything in is a library you won't use.
  4. Whose name is on it? The logo, colours and name of your practice, or the vendor's? And from which plan?
  5. Can your patient read it in their own language? Not every patient reads the language of your practice best, and it matters most in the instructions: how often, how much pain is fine, when to stop.
  6. Can you add your own exercises? Your own videos and photos, or the list you already keep in a spreadsheet, without retyping it all.
  7. What does it store about your patient? A name, a date of birth, an email address, a phone number? Everything in it is a second patient file you have to secure under data protection law.
  8. What does it cost as your team grows? Per therapist per month, or per patient? Count the part-timers, the students and the locums too.

If your module passes on all eight, keep it. One system is simpler than two.

When the module in your EHR is the better choice

A module in your EHR has real advantages, and they can outweigh everything above:

  • One system. One login, one invoice, one place to look things up.
  • An integration. The program lands in the record by itself; you copy nothing.
  • More functions. Some modules, or the programs linked to them, show what your patient ticks off at home, or offer video consultations.

If those advantages weigh most for you, stay with your EHR, or choose an exercise program that integrates with it.

Where Kinmo fits

Kinmo is the specialist for one part: the exercise program. Kinmo is not an EHR. There are no records, no schedule and no claims, and it works next to any EHR.

  • A link, not an app. Your patient opens the program in the browser, without an account or a password.
  • No patient data. Kinmo sees no names, no ID numbers and no contact details. Who your patient is stays in your EHR.
  • Your own practice on every program. Your logo, your colours and your name, in every plan. See it with your own website.
  • Your own exercises, from your laptop, a spreadsheet, your website or a YouTube playlist.
  • More than a hundred languages for your patient to read the program in.
  • Into your records as plain or formatted text, in any EHR.
  • Per treatment episode, not per therapist. In the Kinmo and Pro plans your whole team works in it.

Kinmo also does less, on purpose. It does not track what your patient ticks off, it has no video calls, and it does not integrate with your EHR. If you need those, a module in your EHR or a program like Physitrack may suit you better. Our comparisons with Physitrack and Wibbi set out the differences, with sources and dates.

Frequently asked questions

Does my EHR have an exercise module?

Probably, either built in or through a link with a separate exercise program. Ask your vendor whether it costs extra, then test it with the eight questions above.

Do I need separate software for home exercises next to my EHR?

Only if your module falls short on the points that matter to you. A separate tool earns its place when your patients struggle to open the program, when you want your own practice on it, or when the price per therapist gets in your team's way.

What does physiotherapy software cost?

For an EHR it depends on the package and the modules: ask per therapist, per location and per module. For home exercise software, some vendors charge per therapist per month and others per patient, as Kinmo does. The calculator in our comparison with Physitrack works out which is cheaper for your team.

Does Kinmo work with my EHR?

There is no integration. You copy the program into the record as plain or formatted text, which works in any EHR, and your patient gets the link.

Sources

  • Kessels, R.P.C. (2003). Patients' memory for medical information. Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine, 96(5), 219-222. PMID 12724430
  • Ley, C. & Putz, P. (2024). Efficacy of interventions and techniques on adherence to physiotherapy in adults: an overview of systematic reviews and panoramic meta-analysis. Systematic Reviews, 13, 137. PMID 38773659
  • Reo, J.A. & Mercer, V.S. (2004). Effects of live, videotaped, or written instruction on learning an upper-extremity exercise program. Physical Therapy, 84(7), 622-633. PMID 15225081
  • Lang, S., McLelland, C., MacDonald, D. & Hamilton, D.F. (2022). Do digital interventions increase adherence to home exercise rehabilitation? A systematic review of randomised controlled trials. Archives of Physiotherapy, 12(1), 24. PMID 36184611
  • Merolli, M. et al. (2024). Evaluation of Patient-Facing Mobile Apps to Support Physiotherapy Care: Systematic Review. JMIR mHealth and uHealth, 12, e55003. PMID 38437018