To alleviate concerns and minimise exposure to COVID-19, while continuing to offer essential services to the public as best we can, we have introduced Telehealth consults at Alphington Sports Medicine Clinic.
 

We are offering the following services via Telehealth (phone or video) consultations, in addition to face-to-face:

  • Sport & Exercise Medicine (Physicians and Registrars)
  • Physiotherapy
  • Occupational (Hand) Therapy
  • Exercise Physiology
  • Podiatry
  • Dietetics

 

Please Note: At this stage, for as long as it is safe and within Government regulations, we remain open to the public for face-to-face consultations as well as Telehealth consultations.  

 

  

 

What is Telehealth?
In short, video consultations between health professionals and their patients.
It allows for the exchange of health information between a practitioner and patient in separate locations.
While this is not suitable for all appointments, it is an option we want to offer as widely as we can to ensure as many people as possible can access the help they need. 
To enable the offering of this service we will be using Coviu. Coviu is an encrypted telehealth platform with inbuilt consent to undertake these consultations.
You can find out all about them online, but we wanted to point out two keys things that are included in their values:

  - Privacy: we will respect the privacy of patient data and hold it strictly confidential at all times.

  - Security: we will only ever hold the minimum data necessary, and we will hold and exchange it to the most up-to-date encryption and security standards.
 
Please note: Coviu is not a healthcare provider, its simply the technology powering the appointment.
 
How does it work:

If you are wanting to see one of our Practitioners and would like a Telehealth consultation, please phone us on 9481 5744 so we can determine if this is a viable option for you.
 
You do not need to sign up to anything, you will simply be sent a link to click on for your appointment.
Once you "join the call" you will be asked to take a 'selfie' for identification as well as fill in your first and last name. This is so your clinician can identify you for security purposes.
You will also be prompted by the browser to "enable camera and microphone" please click YES to enable your Smart Device or Computer.

Coviu needs 3 things to work perfectly.

  1. Internet Connectivity - minimum of 350Kbps for both upload and download.
  2. A Computer or Smart Device (phone or tablet).
    Most laptops that are from 2010 and later will have an inbuilt camera, speaker and microphone. If your laptop is from before 2010 you will need to investigate your hardware.
  3. Browser - Coviu was built to run on a google chrome browser. Please download Google Chrome here to get started.
    If you already have Google Chrome please update your browser by clicking here. 
    If you are planning on using an iOS device (iPhone or iPad) for your online session, please make sure it is updated and is running Safari 12+.

 
Costs:

  • Fees for Sports and Exercise Medicine appointments will be determined by the Doctor on a case-by-case basis taking into consideration factors such as Medicare rebates and the length of the consultation.
  • There are Private Health Insurance rebates available for Telehealth Physiotherapy / Allied health consultations. Check with your insurance company for the amount of the rebate you will receive. Worksafe and TAC can also be billed for Telehealth consultations, although a gap payment may be required for these consultations and this will be at the discretion of the practitioner.
  • The cost of Physiotherapy / Allied Health Telehealth consultations will be determined by the Practitioner, taking into consideration the length of the appointment.
  • Payments will need to be made by phone. Our reception staff will call you back after the appointment to arrange this and your receipt will be sent by email. 

 

This is a new setup and system for us (and may be for many of you also), plus the parameters are constantly evolving in this space, so please understand that some of these details may change in the future.


If you have any questions please call us on 9481 5744.