Life Ready is reducing the need to physically attend our clinics by introducing an exciting national video health platform for physiotherapy.

For the majority, delivery of physiotherapy via video health to the comfort of your own home will be a new experience, but our clinics across Australia are well established and we have had great feedback from patients who have been using the service. Although we clearly cannot provide the same hands-on treatment, there is huge scope for other treatment options, supervised exercise progressions and individualised management plans and we are confident that we can provide a comparable service to that of traditional face-to-face visits. In fact, hands-on treatment is just one aspect of physiotherapy we can do for you.

Our video health consultations allow you to keep a healthy physical distance when needed, stay safe, keep you connected to your physiotherapist and stay “life ready” during these unprecedented times.

What is video health?
Using our exciting new video health platform means you will chat to your physiotherapist on-screen rather than face-to-face. Think of it like a fancy Skype session! Just like an in-clinic consultation, your physiotherapist will you ask a number of questions and ask you to perform certain movements and assessments as required.

We’ve carefully designed our bespoke video health platform, Declan™, with your safety and privacy in mind, so it is encrypted and certified to ensure you feel safe and secure during your session.

Life Ready has over 200 qualified physiotherapists who can treat via video health and we’ve performed over 12,000 video health sessions, nationwide.

What can I expect during a video health consultation?
In a nutshell – the same high quality of care and service as our in-clinic sessions, just with a few small changes!

You’ll still receive personalised care and attention from our reception team who will make your video health appointment, get you all set up on our platform, invite you to complete our electronic consent form, take your payment and ask you to wait in our “virtual waiting room”. Once your physiotherapist is all set to go, you’ll receive:

A thorough assessment
To gain a better understanding of your pain, you’ll be asked questions relating to your pain, asked to trial certain movements or physical exercises/tests, touch or point to areas of aggravation, and perhaps, send through photos of bruising, swelling or any changes in condition.

A diagnosis of your concern
Once your physiotherapist has gathered enough information on your area/s of concern they will provide you with a diagnosis and explanation of your pain.

Self-management advice
Now that you’ve been given a name for your pain, we’ll help you self-manage.

Self-managing your pain encourages you to use specific treatment strategies that you can do yourself, learn new skills and manage your own health needs without being too reliant on your physiotherapist. Don’t worry, we’re not going anywhere though. We’ll still help you along every step of the way! Your physiotherapist will explain and demonstrate the specific self-management strategies required like foam rolling, using theraband or stretching and keep you motivated to stay on track in your home environment.

During times of crisis, our physiotherapists have added “delivery driver” and “postie” to their resumes – so they can drop off any clinic equipment you may need to aid in your recovery to your front doorstep!

Advice on activity modification and home exercise programs
Rehabilitation exercises and other useful do’s and don’ts relating to your rehabilitation in your home environment that could be beneficial to your recovery will be explored. Following your consultation, your physiotherapist can send you any information and notes on what has been discussed.

An individualised treatment plan 
Life Ready physiotherapists are always looking to enhance the patient experience and meet your expectations and needs. The treatment plan was developed with this in mind and your physiotherapist can email it to you following your consultation.

Tailored to your own health, fitness and wellbeing goals, your treatment plan also holds the physiotherapist accountable for their treatment and management of your injury or condition. After all, that’s why you came to see the physiotherapist in the first place!

What conditions can you treat via video health?
Good news, we can help treat everything via video health.

Whether you’re experiencing back pain, neck pain, shoulder pain, elbow pain, have injured yourself from playing sport, are suffering from headaches, or require advice on a correct ergonomic setup, we’re here to help.

Additionally, our women’s health physiotherapists can also provide treatment and advice via video health on many pre and postnatal and women’s health issues like pelvic pain, bladder or bowel leakage, pelvic floor muscle weakness or breast feeding problems such as blocked milk ducts or mastitis – saving you the stress and anxiety by helping you get quality advice and care quickly without having to leave the house.

The nitty gritty techy stuff
We understand, not everyone is tech savvy, so if you struggle with technology, we’ll help you get set up from the very beginning.

Declan™ can be used via an application on Apple and Android devices, on Safari as well as via Google Chrome and Mozilla Firefox on your computer. It is easy to use, but our receptionists have been well trained in video health and over the phone, will walk you through everything you need to do just to make sure you’re comfortable as you navigate this new way of receiving healthcare. Just make sure you have a working internet connection!

What’s the best way to prepare for a video health consultation?
Just like an in-clinic consultation, we suggest you wear comfortable, easy to remove clothing as you may need to show your physiotherapist your troublesome area. We also suggest you sit somewhere quiet in your house, away from distractions, with as much light as possible so you and your physiotherapist can both benefit best from the consultation.

If you’re using a laptop, please ensure you have enough battery power so your consultation doesn’t unexpectedly black out! Speaking of which, if for any reason you lose connection with your physiotherapist, we will help you get back up and running as quickly as possible.

Fees and payment
With the exacerbated need for people to access online physiotherapy, most private health insurance companies are now offering rebates for video health (telehealth) consultations. Eligibility still applies, so please chat to your private health insurer to find out what your level of cover entitles you for. You can quote the item numbers 811 and 812 to find out what your rebate may be.

Payment is made upfront prior to your video health consultation and your receipt can be emailed to you so you can claim your rebate (if eligible) directly from your private health insurer.

• Initial video health consultation: 45min
• Subsequent video health consultation: 30min

As our clinics are all unique, please contact your local Life Ready team to learn more about our video health pricing. Clinic details can be found here.

A video health consultation would really benefit me or someone I know during these times. How do I book?
We can’t wait to connect with you online!

For new patients, book now here.
For existing patients, book now here.

And if you prefer to communicate with a human about booking a video health consultation, you can email or phone your local Life Ready team now. You can find their details here.