Luna Unveils AI Division To Boost At-Home Physical Therapy Services
The division will create AI products such as automated conversational tools to help patients and therapists with scheduling, rescheduling and billing
Luna, an in-home physical therapy platform, is pushing into artificial intelligence with Luna Labs, its new AI division dedicated to enhancing patient care.
Luna Labs will be led by Ryan Gaffney, Luna’s co-founder and chief technology officer who is a former Uber engineer. The division will create new AI products such as automated conversational tools to help patients and therapists with scheduling, rescheduling, billing and more.
The AI unit will use a deep-learning algorithm to increase its auto-charting capabilities. This speech-enabled physical therapy charting system transcribes and analyzes clinicians’ voice inputs into notes, which Luna points out will save time and enhance medical record accuracy.
“AI is demonstrating significant potential in healthcare, and we’re excited about the new things that we’re building,” Gaffney said. “Our investment in AI technologies will drive efficiency and allow our therapists to devote more time to patient care, which our health system and provider group partners will all benefit from. We’ve already made significant advances with our technology platform via auto-charting, and Luna Labs will innovate healthcare further to ensure that we continue to lead in the AI race.”
The PT company currently operates in 27 states and has treated 40,000 patients with its one-on-one, hands-on approach in the comfort of a patient’s home. The fast-growing clinic earned an ‘Exceptional’ award from Medicare last year.
Luna recently welcomed RaeAnn Grossman as its chief growth officer, who will oversee the expansion of Luna’s strategic relationships with health plans, providers and in-home physical therapy growth opportunities.
The executive appointment follows Luna’s latest national report that shows health systems lose $3.1 billion in revenue from physical therapy referral “leakage,” equating to an average loss of $2,500 per patient.
As health systems typically refer patients to physical therapy clinics post-surgery, Luna has found that 60% of referred patients resort to seeking care elsewhere, since they’re unwilling to travel more than a few miles for PT care. Luna’s at-home approach to licensed physical therapists has attracted Providence, Emory Healthcare, Intermountain Healthcare, UCLA Health and MedStar Health to partner with the PT provider.
