As you’re only too aware, face to face treatment at our North Shore physiotherapy clinics, and at our clinic in Mt Wellington, has been temporarily suspended. The Covid-19 lockdown forced all of NewZealand to operate at arm’s length, and we’re no exception. So at Physio Connect, we moved all of our services to a Telehealth platform. We thought it would be a good time to tell you a little more about Telehealth, as in the future it could make your treatment much more convenient.
Telehealth allows us to keep doing what we’re good at – providing you with a high level of service and rehabilitation via a phone call or video conferencing. Through Telehealth we can deliver regular assessments on your progress through questioning, advice and exercise protocols. We know you’re going through enough right now, so if you can keep you functioning, mobile and pain-free it’s one less thing you have to worry about.
If we decide that you’d benefit from a Telehealth appointment, then we’d ask you to prepare for it as you would with a regular face to face session. If we want to check your mobility or progress during an exercise-based session, please try and set up a space where you have plenty of room to move around, and dress in loose, casual clothing. By the way, the better the lighting, the better we can see how you’re doing. On the other hand, if it’s a talk-based appointment where we’ll be asking you questions to monitor your progress, we’d request that you chat with us from a quiet room that is free of distractions.
Obviously, the type of appointment will dictate what type of equipment you’ll need. If it involves exercise, the appointment would be carried out on a computer with a camera. If you don’t have access to a computer – and this can happen when several people are at home and sharing the same computer for work or school – then a tablet or phone camera might work too. If we only need to talk, then a phone could be all you need. We’ll discuss all this with you while you’re preparing for your Telehealth appointment.
Telehealth is safe, secure and approved by the Ministry of Health. It has become increasingly popular all around the world, and at Physio Connect we think it is a workable alternative to face to face treatment for the time being, and maybe into the future. It’s the new way of conducting North Shore physiotherapy for now, and we’re happy to use it if it means we can stay in touch with you and ensure your rehabilitation remains on track. Contact us if you’d like to find out more.
