New research report

The 2026 State of Rehabilitation Technology

We surveyed 84 rehabilitation professionals about documentation, clinical data, AI, immersive technology, and where their organizations plan to invest next. Here's what they told us.

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Cover of the 2026 State of Rehabilitation Technology Report A patient using the Smart Therapy Complete Solution during a rehabilitation session
84
RespondentsPTs, OTs, rehab leaders, and faculty
60.9%
Named documentationas a top-three burden on their team
78.7%
Want data to flowfrom treatment into documentation
67.8%
Prefer fewer systemsthat connect more of the workflow
The clearest signal

Documentation outweighs every other burden

We asked respondents which parts of the rehabilitation workflow create the greatest burden for their clinical team, and each could choose up to three. Documentation was named nearly twice as often as the next answer.

Top six of fourteen options shown. 69 respondents answered this question.

Inside the report

Five findings for rehab teams

Finding 1

Documentation is the defining burden

63.8%

say clinicians document outside scheduled treatment time frequently or almost every day, and 49.3% estimate at least an hour of documentation per therapist per day.

Finding 2

Progress data exists, but it rarely travels

40.9%

say data from rehabilitation technology is manually re-entered into documentation. Only 6.1% say it flows into the EHR automatically.

Finding 3

Immersive technology now faces practical questions

49.2%

chose ease of setup as a top VR and AR criterion, tied with price and ROI, and 9.5% of organizations had used VR or AR and discontinued it.

Finding 4

AI is arriving through documentation

50.8%

named automated clinical documentation as the most valuable use of AI, well ahead of any other application.

Finding 5

Leaders want fewer, better connected systems

67.8%

prefer one primary platform or a few integrated systems over a collection of single-purpose tools.

Who responded

84 rehabilitation professionals

Physical therapists were the largest group (35.7%), followed by occupational therapists (14.3%) and academic or research professionals (13.1%). About three in ten held a leadership role, from therapy manager to chief executive.

How the survey worked

The survey was fielded online from August through September 2026 through email invitations to rehabilitation professionals. Later questions had fewer responses as some people stopped partway through, with 59 answering the final section.

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Fill out the form to download the complete 17-page PDF.

  • Every chart from the 2026 survey
  • A side-by-side look at our 2023 and 2026 surveys
  • Results from our weekly clinician polls
  • What the findings suggest for rehabilitation teams