Why Patients Stop — and What Actually Helps
A research summary for home rehab product teams: the real reasons patients abandon their programs, what retention tactics work, and how AI is changing adherence.
65–73%
of PT patients don’t follow their home program
~90%
of rehab exercises happen unsupervised at home
50%
relapse risk within 2 months of quitting early
Why Patients Stop
Home-based rehab has one of the worst adherence rates in healthcare. Most patients stop well before recovery is complete — often without telling anyone. The research points to five root causes.
Financial burden
Copays, deductibles, missed work hours, and travel costs make treatment difficult to continue.
The “I feel better” effect
Pain decreases around session 4–5, leading patients to believe recovery is complete when the root cause remains.
Lack of visible progress
Slow results and unrealistic expectations reduce motivation to stay in treatment.
Logistical barriers
Work schedules, childcare responsibilities, and transportation issues disrupt attendance.
Low self-efficacy
Limited support and poor adherence to home exercises increase dropout risk.
Each cause has a fix
The full report pairs every dropout cause with the retention tactics that are proven to work — from pricing and expectation-setting to progress tracking and automated check-ins.
Download the playbook →What’s Inside
the Report
The five root causes of patient dropout — with the share of churn each one drives
A practical retention playbook: what actually helps for every dropout cause
The business cost of churn in engagement- and outcome-based payment models
How AI is reshaping home rehab adherence, backed by a 2025 JMIR systematic review
Case study: how Sword Health cut dropout to less than half of in-person PT
What it all means for home rehab product teams building around adherence
17 pages · PDF · Free for product, clinical, and growth teams building home rehabilitation experiences.
Get the free report
Tell us where to reach you and the download starts instantly.