Physical Therapy Provision After COVID-19 in the Netherlands: Retrospective Cohort Study.

Background: Many patients have been treated by physical therapists after an infection with COVID-19. The policy changes and unique situation of the COVID-19 pandemic necessitate a retrospective analysis. Objective: This study examined physical therapy provision for adult patients recovering from COVID-19 in primary care in the Netherlands over the first 2.5 years of the pandemic. The primary aim was to examine changes in the amount of health care provision and associated factors. Furthermore, we aimed to gain insight into the patient population and changes over time, as well as the use of advised outcome measures in physical therapy after COVID-19. Methods: We conducted a retrospective cohort study using routine health care data from the electronic health records of physical therapy practices in Dutch primary care. In total, 71,152 COVID-19 treatment trajectories initiated between March 1, 2020, and December 18, 2022, were included. Multilevel generalized linear mixed model analyses examined changes over time in the patient population and in the amount of physical therapy within treatment trajectories (ie, duration in weeks and number of consultations). Outcome measures were analyzed using descriptive statistics. Results: Completed treatment trajectories had an overall duration of 24 weeks with 28 consultations, with a decreasing trend in the amount of physical therapy provided over time ( Conclusions: This study demonstrates the potential of routinely collected health care data to describe real-world physical therapy provision for COVID-19 in Dutch primary care. Patients showed severe perceived fatigue, reduced functional capacity, and lower-limb strength at the start of physical therapy. The amount of physical therapy declined over the first 2.5 years of the pandemic, differed by age and gender, and was generally lower than the amount reimbursed by the Dutch government through basic health insurance.