Background: Telehealth has been emerging in health care as new technologies are becoming part of patient care. Most recently, the COVID-19 pandemic has been a catalyst for telehealth growth. While some physical therapists have begun practicing rehabilitation via telehealth, termed as telerehabilitation, the level of knowledge, skills, and attitudes necessary to demonstrate competency in effective, evidence-based telerehabilitation is lacking in the profession. Purpose: The purpose of this study is to establish competencies for physical therapists performing telerehabilitation. Methods: In a 3-round Delphi study, physical therapists from a variety of practice settings were surveyed rating their agreement on telerehabilitation competency statements using a 5-point Likert scale of agreement. In round 1 of the study, subject matter experts (SME) with more than 9 months experience were asked to rate agreement on statements adapted from previously published literature. In addition, 2 open-ended questions to were used to generate additional competencies. Following a thematic analysis of the responses received from open-ended questions, new statements were included in round 2 for all participants. The threshold for consensus was set at 75%. Statements with 20%-75% consensus were included in each subsequent rounds while statements with less than 20% agreement were excluded. Results: Consensus was achieved on 83 competency statements across 3 domains: knowledge, skills, and attitudes. Conclusions: Identification of telerehabilitation competencies for physical therapists has been identified in this study. Further research into the implementation of telerehabilitation in specific speciality practice areas may be beneficial; however, clinicians with minimal to no expertise in telerehabilitation and those involved in physical therapy education can use this as a suggestion for the knowledge and skills required to provide care effectively in a virtual manner. As we advance in our understanding of the best uses of telerehabilitation, it would be important to consider all aspects of provision of physical therapy and understand where telerehabilitation may be most advantageous in providing care, and where face to face treatment may remain superior to virtual treatment.
