Telehealth Physiotherapy

Not every appointment needs hands on you. Reviewing how an exercise program is going, progressing loads, checking a return-to-sport plan, talking through a flare-up, or getting advice when you are interstate for work — all of that works over video.

We are deliberately careful about what we will and will not do this way. A first appointment for a new, undiagnosed problem is usually better in person, because the assessment depends on feeling what the joint does. A follow-up on something we already understand often loses nothing at all.

What works well over video

• Progressing or correcting an exercise program we have already prescribed
• Reviewing recovery between in-person sessions
• Advice on load management, pacing and return to sport or work
• Ergonomic and workstation advice, where seeing your actual desk is the point
• Appointments when you are unwell, interstate, or without transport

What does not, and why we will tell you

Hands-on treatment obviously cannot happen over a screen, and neither can the parts of an assessment that depend on the physiotherapist moving the joint. Acute injuries, anything with a possible fracture, new neurological symptoms, and first appointments for an unexplained problem are all better in person.

If you book a video appointment and it becomes clear within a few minutes that you need to be seen in the room, we will say so and help you rebook rather than filling the time.

How it works

You will get a video link before the appointment. You need a phone, tablet or computer with a camera, a few square metres of clear floor, and somewhere to prop the device so we can see you move. Wear clothing you can move in and that lets the relevant area be seen.

Have anything relevant to hand — resistance bands, the brace, the scan report, the list of medications. It is a real appointment, not a phone call.

Cost and funding

Telehealth physiotherapy is charged as a standard consultation. Private health extras cover for telehealth physiotherapy varies a great deal between funds and policies, so check with your fund before booking rather than after. Medicare care plan rules for allied health telehealth are narrower than for in-person appointments; ask us when you book and we will tell you what applies in your case.

Common questions