Coronavirus (COVID-19) update: New tele-health physiotherapy and exercise support
Renew Physiotherapy
Due to the evolving coronavirus (COVID-19) response, we are changing the way we provide physiotherapy, deliver exercise and help to optimise our client’s health.
Renew Physiotherapy is now transitioning away from face-to-face consultations and will be offering a tele-health model of delivery. The need for any face-to-face consultation will be determined only following tele-physio consultation.
This is in the best interests of the health of our staff, patients, and, importantly, helps us meet our responsibility as an organisation and as individuals to help reduce the potential spread of COVID-19.
We have no way of knowing exactly how long the impacts of COVID-19 will be felt, but it is anticipated to be months rather than weeks. With this in mind, we are sensitive to the needs of all our clients to stay physically healthy and to optimise immune and mental health.
We also understand that many of our clients will need ongoing assistance with managing degenerative conditions and pain.
As you know, we are a small family-owned, community clinic. We know many businesses out there are doing it tough, and we value the support of our clients through this challenging time.
We will be here for you when this pandemic subsides, and look forward to the day when we can once again resume our regular services with you.
In the meantime, we are pleased to be able to offer three new consultation types to continue to support the ongoing management of your current injury, any new injuries, and regular exercise.
While the below options will not be able to completely replace your regular clinical exercise, we feel that during this challenging time, they will enable you to optimise your physical and mental health – an essential requirement for a healthy immune system.
Please note: we have been informed that private health rebates are anticipated to be applied to some of the consultations below. This would mean some of these consultations are likely to be eligible to be claimed via your private health insurance. Please speak to your physio about this for more information.
To book an appointment or if you have any questions, simply contact Renew Physiotherapy on 9818 3373 or email [email protected].
1. Tele-physio consultation
This consultation is appropriate for anyone that has a condition that would normally require them to present to a physiotherapist. The tele-physio consultation will mirror all aspects of a regular consultation, only the physiotherapist and the client are no longer in the same room.
What does this include?
The consultation will include:
- History-taking, assessment and injury diagnosis
- Education
- Advice on injury management strategies
- Prescription of exercise (where appropriate)
- Advice on appropriate follow up (if necessary)
Your Renew physio will allocate 30 minutes for these tele-health consultations. This will enable them to to complete all necessary documentation of the consultation and email any information, such as home exercise programs, to the client.
How much does this cost?
Cost: $40.00 for a 30 minute consultation.
2. Tele-health physio-led exercise sessions
If you regularly attend a group exercise/pilates session at Renew or would like to, then this is the option for you. These sessions will feature a weekly “live appointment” with a Renew physio who will guide you through your own exercises.
This is a great way to maintain your exercise routine while maintain your ‘social distancing’. Importantly, these sessions will provide you with the opportunity to ask any necessary questions along the way. We feel that our knowledge of your medical history, your exercise capacity and regular exercise routine will enable us to provide the best adaptation of specific exercises to your home environment, and in turn, limit any de-conditioning that can quickly ensue as a result of inactivity.
What does this involve?
The initial contact will involve assessing:
- The best Tele-Health platform for you – this is most likely zoom.us, Facetime or Skype).
- And the appropriate equipment for your sessions – this will depend on equipment you already own. Your Renew physio may organise to send equipment, such as theraband and balls, via the post if required.
How much does this cost?
Cost: $35 for a 30-minute individual guided exercise session.
3. Independent exercise programming and monitoring
This is the ideal option for those who are seeking a personalised exercise program and are comfortable to perform it by themselves in their own chosen time.
We understand the nature and history of your injury. We have guided many of you through exercises for a variety of conditions before. This knowledge will enable us to design a tailored home exercise program to suit your needs.
What does this involve?
- Your Renew physio will research your injury and exercise history, and conduct an initial phone/tele-health consultation.
- Your Renew physio will create a home exercise program with you, based on your history and the equipment you have available.
- You will receive your home exercise program via email
- A weekly follow up phone consultation from your Renew physiotherapist to check, refine and/or progress the home exercise program, which will again be emailed through to you.
This process continues for two weeks. At the end of the two week period, you can discuss the benefits of repeating the process.
How much does this cost?
Independent exercise programming and monitoring will cost $101 – the same as a standard physiotherapy consultation fee.
How to book an appointment
The clinic can still be contacted on our regular number: 9818 3373. If we are unable to answer, please bear with us and leave a message and we will return your call.
Alternatively, you can contact us by email to arrange an appointment.
For general inquiries, you can also email the business: [email protected].
Payments
Renew Physiotherapy does not currently take online transactions. We will be sending an invoice for services which can be paid by direct debit. Once again, we thank you for your understanding during this time of transition.
Private health insurance funding for Tele-physio consultations is on the way. Current information suggests patients will be able to claim rebates for sessions provided between 14 April – 30 September 2020. It is not clear if all insurers will adopt this. We encourage our clients to confirm this with their insurer. If they do not follow advice from Private Health Care Australia, you could rightly ask them why not?
Thank you again for your ongoing support during this time. We value and appreciate every one of our clients and look forward to working with you over the coming months.