Physical Therapy Exercise Software and Cloud Computing Myths

There are several myths about cloud computing as it relates to physical therapy assessment software that deserve to be busted. Some physiotherapists have busted five of those myths.

Myth #1- Lack of compatibility.
Fact- Some of the rehab exercise software providers run in a Web browser, so there are few hardware constraints in using it. With this physical therapy software, clinics can use desktop computers, laptops, Apple iPads and even smart phones to access it.

Myth #2- Cloud computing poses security risks.
Fact- Some of the makers of rehabilitation exercises software employ the following security measures:

• Every user account is password protected, which means that only authorized people have access to patient records.


• Every user account must change their password every 30 days.


• Every logged in user will be automatically logged out after a period of inactivity to ensure that unauthorized users will not have access to patient records.


• Physical therapy exercise software producers employ daily backups, which can easily be restored in the case of disaster recovery.


• Some of the rehabilitation exercise software companies encrypt all data during transmission and at rest, as specified by numerous regulations.

Myth #3- Cloud Computing isn't reliable.
Fact- Having its physical therapy documentation software in the cloud provides with multiple redundant instances of it available for use. If an error occurs with one instance, such as a power outage, all network traffic would be immediately diverted to another instance without interruption.

In today's world, there are many portals to the Internet, so if a main connection such as DSL over the phone line goes down, rehab software users can connect to the Web by plugging their smart phone into their computer, using their smart phone itself, or using a USB stick that gives them wireless access to the net.
Cloud computing simply offers way more redundant systems then an in-office system.

Myth #4- Cloud computing has network and storage constraints.
Fact- The whole goal of cloud computing that many people don't yet realize is to provide seemingly infinite resources. The same idea applies for storage, because its storage also occurs in the cloud.

Myth #5- The software isn't useful if users can't move everything at once into the cloud.
Fact- This isn't an issue because moving information to the cloud is not really much different from moving information to non-cloud software.

In fact the new users begin using the system by entering new patients. This eliminates the need to scan in charts, etc.

In a typical physiotherapy practice, treatment times for most problems are less than six months. That means within a short period of time, all of a clinic's active patients will be "in the cloud."

Some potential users are concerned with being able to integrate software with their existing software that isn't cloud based, and it isn't a problem. The software can export and import data from any system.

The bottom line is that for physical therapy clinics seeking to automate the way they prescribe physiotherapy exercises and other processes, cloud computing software is not only safe, it is safer than paper chart systems or in-office servers. In-office data is available to anyone who breaks into the office, and it could be destroyed by fire, etc. Maintaining data in the cloud protects it from these potential dangers.