Virtual Care Program

Our plan during the Coronavirus era (April 2020)

Effective March 30, the Public Health Authority has closed physiotherapy clinics for all but “emergency” patients. (We are not permitted to provide massage therapy or acupuncture services at all) We expect this to continue through the entire month of April. During this month, we have a Physiotherapist available Monday to Friday to see emergency patients in private treatment rooms, once we have determined that you have passed the following 2 screening exams

COVID-19 Screening: (if you answer YES to any of these, you are not permitted to come in for physiotherapy)

1. Do you or anyone in your household have new/worse cough and shortness of breath?
2. Do you or anyone in your household have symptoms of a fever (>38*)?
3. Have you had shakes, chill, severe headache, runny nose, nausea, diarrhea or vomiting in the last 24 hours?
4. Have you been exposed to a confirmed or probable case of COVID-19 in the past 30 days?
5. In the past 30 days have your returned from travel to any other locations outside of Canada (travel includes passing through an airport)?

Emergency patient screening: (we are only permitted to see you if you fit the following criteria)

1. Providing service through Virtual Care / Telehealth is not possible (see info below, and if uncertain, call our office to find out more.)
   AND any one of the following:
2. You have pain severe enough that you are considering attending the emergency room (example: severe sudden back pain, slip and fall with severe sprain/strain)
3. You are an ‘essential service provider’ (health care or first responder) and you are unable to work due to an injury (even if WCB is not involved).
4. You have had recent surgery or had a cast removed and you need physiotherapy to rehabilitate from that.
5. Your condition is likely to deteriorate to the point of needing a hospital visit in the near future, and physiotherapy may help prevent that.

Virtual Care Visits

If you don’t fit the above criteria, we may still be of assistance through our technology-based software program. Our Virtual Care platform meets the highest privacy and security standards. Our physiotherapists can connect with you through a range of devices (*see list below) at your home to provide the following:

• Review and updates of your exercise program.
• Education on management of an existing condition.
• Progression of your post-operative rehab program.
• Advice on management of new injuries for our existing patients.
• In limited circumstances, we may be able to assess new patients and provide treatment advice for new injuries as well.

Here is some more information about what to expect with Virtual Care. Our parent company Lifemark Health Group conducted 600 virtual care visits across the country in one day last week alone.

Billing for Virtual Care

Many Health Benefits companies are permitting regular physiotherapy billing for Virtual Care. In fact, many insurers are very happy that we have this as an option and are encouraging us to use virtual care to continue assisting patients. Note that if you are paying privately or through Extended Health Benefits, standard physiotherapy rates apply, and there is no added cost for virtual care.

Devices compatible with our Virtual Care platform:

• Windows PC Computers running Windows 7 or greater with Chrome or Firefox
• Apple Mac Computers running macOS v10.11 or greater Chrome or Firefox (Safari does not work on Apple iMacs or MacBooks)
• Android mobile devices*:
  • Samsung Galaxy S7, S8, S9 with Chrome
  • Samsung Galaxy S5 neo with Samsung browser
  • Google Pixel with Chrome
  • Note*: Due to the large range of Android devices, it is not possible to test all devices. Please note that devices that are not listed above may not be compatible with the software.
• Apple iPhone devices:
  • Apple iPhone 6, 7, 8 and newer with Safari. You do not need to download Chrome or Firefox!