Phone: (08) 9244 8588 | Fax: (08) 9244 8928 | HealthLink ID: gwelupmc

TELEHEALTH/ONLINE PHYSIOTHERAPY CONSULTATIONS

Our online physiotherapy consultations allow for effective assessment and treatment of your pain from the comfort of your own home.

What is telehealth/online physiotherapy?

Telehealth physiotherapy is an online alternate to in-clinic physiotherapy. You will speak to your physiotherapist on-screen rather than in person. Your physiotherapist will ask a number of questions and ask you to perform certain movements and tests as required. A growing number of clinical studies have shown telehealth/online physiotherapy consultations are safe, secure, cost effective and in the vast majority of cases equally as effective as an in-room consultation.

Please note for those without the technology or who don’t feel comfortable with the idea of video chat we offer a phone/voice call and email package. This package includes up to an hour of over the phone contact and any follow up email/text message correspondence required.

What should I expect?

If you are a new patient to Lake Gwelup Physiotherapy you will be emailed a new patient form for you to complete prior to your consultation. This is a relatively straight forward word document with space for you to type in the information required already set out.

A telehealth/online consultation is much like any usual in person appointment, except you will be speaking to your physiotherapist on-screen rather than in person.

After thorough questioning your physiotherapist may ask you to perform certain movements/physical tests. For example, you may be asked to point to the area of pain or you may be guided through touching a certain region to check for any tenderness. Occasionally it may be necessary to send via secured email pictures of the injured area to allow for examination of swelling/bruising/muscle wasting ect.

Once your physiotherapist has collected enough information, an explanation for your pain (a diagnosis) will be given, followed by advice and a tailored rehabilitation program. During your appointment any specific exercises required will be explained and demonstrated. Your rehabilitation exercises and any other useful information will be sent to you after your appointment.

It is true we will be unable to perform any direct hands-on treatment. In actual fact, hands on physiotherapy really does form a very small part of what we do as physiotherapists. Hands on therapy often does provide temporary relief but longer-term recovery, resolution of symptoms and prevention is generally more to do with the advice and the actions you as the patient take at home and in day to day life.

If you are unsure whether telehealth is suitable for you or you have any questions, please contact me directly at chris@lakegwelupphysio.com.au

How can I book a telehealth online consultation?

You can make telehealth consultation by phoning the clinic on 9244 8588 or via email correspondence to chris@lakegwelupphysio.com.au. Online bookings are not available for telehealth consultations.

Telehealth consultations are not just limited to our past patients or even those who live locally. We welcome all patients living across Australia. If you live outside Western Australia, please note the times available for bookings are Australian Western Standard Time (AWST).

The technical stuff

To access a telehealth physiotherapy consult you will require a smartphone, tablet or laptop/desktop equipped with a camera and microphone. You do not need to download any apps, although it is recommended you have Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox if using your laptop/desktop. It is also useful to have a good internet connection!

You can make a booking via email or over the phone. We will email you a link for your online consultation prior to your appointment. Please follow the prompts after clicking on the link to reach our virtual “waiting room”. Your physiotherapist will answer your call/invitation when your appointment time is scheduled. You can use the link in the email for any future appointments.

How do I prepare for my consultation?

Prior to your appointment, as you would with a face-to-face appointment, please ensure you are wearing appropriate clothing and have any further information that may be useful like GP/specialists reports and imaging reports. Imaging reports can be accessed by your physiotherapist if the place the images were taken is known. You may consider taking images of your injured region with either a pen mark or a finger pointing to the area of pain, although this is not generally necessary.

Fees/payment

Many private health insurers have now removed the rebate for telehealth consultations following the lifting of COVID-19 restrictions. Please speak with your provider if you would like to find if you are covered. The item numbers for physiotherapy consults by telehealth are 811 (initial) and 812 (subsequent). Please use these numbers if you are making an enquiry about the level of cover.

Private patients will receive an invoice via email and/or mail. Payments are to be made via bank transfer. Alternatively, you can pay in clinic via eftpos or call and pay over the phone.

  • Telehealth physiotherapy standard (30 minutes)

    $90

  • Telehealth physiotherapy concession (30 minutes)

    $82

  • Telehealth 1 on 1 exercise class standard (30 minutes)

    $90

  • Telehealth 1 on 1 exercise class concession (30 minutes)

    $82
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