OpenTeleRehab

Globally, 2.4 billion people are living with a health condition that could benefit from rehabilitation. More than 50% of people in many developing countries have unmet needs for rehabilitation (UNDESA). In some low and middle-income countries, barriers for persons with disabilities are so significant that only 3-5% are able to access the rehabilitation services they need (Shakespeare, Bright, Kuper, 2018).

Telerehabilitation is the use of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) to provide rehabilitation services to people at a distance in their environments.

Recent evidence suggests that telerehabilitation can be as effective as face-to-face therapy in treating specific pathologies. Telerehabilitation can improve access to rehabilitation services, reduce health care costs and facilitate continuity of care. Telerehabilitation complements traditional approaches to rehabilitation service provision. As highlighted in our research “Barriers and levers for the use of telerehabilitation through eperimentation in three countries“, the optimal use and deployment of telerehabilitation faces human, technological and organizational barriers. However, both professionals and users report significant benefits from using telerehabilitation.

In 2023, the first-ever World Health Assembly on rehabilitation noted that “telerehabilitation can improve the process of rehabilitation”.

OpenTeleRehab is an open source, multidisciplinary, telerehabilitation software – connecting rehabilitation professionals with service users to improve access to rehabilitation services and contribute to universal health coverage by facilitating discharge, transition of care and follow-up.

OpenTeleRehab allows its users to access tailormade rehabilitation treatment plans adapted to a variety of conditions. It enables rehabilitation professionals to provide continued support and follow-up via SMS, chat, audio and video communication, including plan adherence and goal achievement tracking.

OpenTeleRehab is made of 4 different platforms :

• an admin web portal to manage content, users and system settings;
• a therapist web portal to manage service user accounts, design treatment plans, set up appointments and organize communication with the rehabilitation service user;
• a patient mobile app to access treatment plans on and off-line, provide feedback, request appointments and exchange with therapists via chat, audio or video communication;
• an open access library allowing the rehabilitation community and peers to access, contribute to, build and develop a global telerehabilitation exercise and resource library.

OpenTeleRehab is currently piloted in Vietnam, Cambodia, Rwanda, Benin, Myanmar and Colombia.

More about the project

• Accessibility:
  • Offline mode and SMS capability
  • Local language support
  • WHO-ITU Global Standards for Accessibility of Telehealth Services
  • Comprehensive library resources targeting relevant health conditions
• Interoperability:
  • FHIR HL7 Standards for seamless data exchange with health information systems
• Sustainable and Scalable Design:
  • Open Source
  • Micro-service architecture for easy localization and technology transfer
  • Dedicated administration application for decentralized users and settings management and monitoring, evaluation and learning
• Data-driven:
  • Data Analytics and Business Intelligence features for deep data exploration and visualization