TELEHEALTH

2020 and the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in a shift in the traditional delivery of physiotherapy services. With limitations on who we could see face to face, Telehealth (video consultations) became the new normal. I have always believed education is a critical component to injury management, and this medium has been an excellent way to continue the care of clients, educating them on their injury or pain source and subsequent management strategies to get them back to feeling their normal selves.

A Telehealth consultation involves:

• Taking your history, assessment of your movement and appropriate functional tests.

• Providing you with a diagnosis and education regarding this diagnosis.

• Advice on injury management.

• Prescription of exercises (where appropriate).

• Advice on appropriate follow-up.

One benefit of Telehealth consultations is being able to provide ergonomic advice to you with your home office arrangements. With the sudden shift to working from home, a lot of people were unable to set up their home workspace as ergonomically as their office. Some simple adjustments (such as placing your laptop on some books and utilising a separate keyboard) can make a significant difference to how your body will feel at the end of the day.

I have found that Telehealth has been excellent for providing rehabilitation exercise programs and progressing these over the months. Utilising any small equipment (from formal exercise equipment such as foam rollers to home-made weights with bottles of wine or tin cans), Telehealth has allowed me to keep clients motivated and achieving their goals.

As of April 14th 2020, Telehealth consultations are now able to be claimed with the majority of Private Health Insurance providers.