What is Tele-Health?
Telehealth is an under-utilised facet of physiotherapy management. The World Health Organisation supports the use of Telehealth services and define it as ‘the use of telecommunications and virtual technology to deliver health care outside of traditional health care facilities’.
This is not a new service that has been put together due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Physiotherapists and other health professionals have been successfully using this for years! The National Telehealth Initiative was set up in 2011 by the Australian Government Department of Health & Ageing. This was designed to support patients who were unable to attend their health profession due to issues such as living in remote and rural areas with no easy access for face to face consults. Health communication via technology has been so successful that some Physiotherapy courses now include consultations via tele-health in their course syllabus!
In current circumstances with many of the population self-isolating, this is a great way that we can continue to have client-therapist interaction and achieve successful patient outcomes while maintaining a safe distance and doing our bit to keep everyone safe.
What can I expect from my Telehealth Consultation?
- Book in Online or Call Us to schedule your 1:1 appointment or class
- Receive the Invitation. We will send you an invite via email within the 24 hours prior to your session. We currently use Zoom & PhysiApp.
- Open the link just before the class start time. We will meet you online!
In your consultation your physiotherapist will ask you some questions to establish how your symptoms are behaving and how you are getting on with your prescribed physiotherapy exercises (if you are a previous client!). Then you will be guided through a physical assessment where you will be asked to perform certain movements so that we can clarify our diagnosis (if you are a new client) or progress (if a returning client). Please wear comfortable form fitting clothing so that we can do our best possible assessment. Depending on our findings, we can then carry out our treatment of advice, education and exercise rehabilitation.
A lot of people enjoy the hands-on treatment that physio entails and this will obviously not be possible during a telehealth consultation. However, manual therapy is only a small part of physiotherapy and our most important aim is to achieve long term results and a sustainable recovery pathway. There is no denying that our clients’ efficacy is improved when operating remotely and therefore their ability to self manage should be greater.
Why is it important?
The Government has labelled physiotherapy an essential service & we couldn’t agree more! The already established realm of Telehealth has become a perfect way for us to safely continue connecting with our patients, progressing rehabilitation and providing easy access to exercise at a time when our exercise endorphins are so important for our physical and mental health. We know that increased stress and anxiety, new routines and poor ergonomic setup can contribute enormously to the pain experience and we can’t expect everyone’s aches and pains to just go away. New aches and pains will be popping up all the time and we need to teach our clients how to manage them to avoid chronic conditions.
If you have any questions about our online services, speak to one of our lovely reception staff members on 9650 4149 or at [email protected]
Testimonials:
“It was great being able to continue treatment of my tennis elbow with Kimberly using the Telehealth app. The process was simple and easy. I logged on to the website and she called me through the app at my appointment time. Kim was able to test my movements and review my exercises, just like a face to face appointment. I was able to ask questions and I felt reassured that I am on the right track and that my injury would get better over time. ” – Fiona
“While working from home, having a tele-health consultation was a great way to get specific advice and exercises in real time. It’s great to be able to keep the lines to my regular health providers open in these circumstances.” – Quynh-Chi
“I had an online appointment with Laura yesterday and it went really well. The online platform was easy to use, and very clear on my ipad. Laura messaged me at the appointed time and let me know she was ready. We are able to see each other clearly and after taking a history, she was able to demonstrate suggested exercises and give suggestions with how to improve if I needed to. I found it personal and a great way to interact in these social distancing times. I would highly recommend these online appointments” – Jo