Those Pesky Self-Help DVD's Again

I've never been a fan of Advance for Physical Therapists & PT Assistants.  (I'm still not a fan.)

For some reason, this kindling made it to my door... and for some reason I opened it up.  The last page happened to have the opinions of 4 individuals on self-help DVD's for various common conditions.  We've discussed this before, I know.  I was just floored by the lack of the ability to truly respond to the question and the opinions presented. 

Let me paraphrase the responses to:  Do rehab clinicians feel these resources play a role in easing painful conditions?

PT #1:  They are a treatment option.  Therapists must be aware of the vast amount of information and offer professional guidance.  My thoughts... Hello... if the potential patient is purchasing a DVD, do you really think you're going to have the opportunity to offer any professional guidance? 

PT #2:  Using the latest technology is just one avenue to give people the freedom to live a pain-free life.  My thoughts... Oh, oh... so as our research points to defining subgroups of patients and their responses to particular interventions, will a person really be able to identify the appropriate subgroup and match the appropriate exercises/tasks?  Hmmm, and is a pain-free life realistic?

PT#3:  Selling DVDs is a source of cash revenue and can promote physical therapist expertise. My thoughts... ummm, well, does the DVD ease painful conditions?  Will the DVD meet the expectations?

MD #1:  Why, oh why, did our fellow colleagues not sound as fabulous as his response?  Ryan Reeves, MD  "Without appropriate supervision and guidance, patients miss out on the integration of their clinical signs, symptoms, exam findings and test results."  I loved his final ending, "Without guidance, the most you should expect is mediocre outcome."  The only negative with Ryan is it appears he's practicing in a referral for profit situation.

Let's pretend the DVD's do have great information and are created by physical therapists.  If the consumer has the expectation that the self-help DVD will resolve the current complaint because the DVD was created by a physical therapist expert... but then the DVD wasn't beneficial, didn't help or made things worse, how exactly will we be viewed? 

It might be nice to see a clinical trial where patients are provided with a DVD and allowed to make all the decisions (with pre and post outcome data) and compare their self-help outcomes to physical therapist directed services.

Selena Horner