The offering of telehealth appointments allows for Group23 to be flexible with our patient population and their needs, especially during a time of uncertainty. Read an interview with Lisa, one of our physiotherapists, so see how we can help you reach your goals virtually.

What is telehealth? Telehealth is a visit between you and your healthcare provider. Telehealth uses video conferencing or just audio conferencing to provide a connection between patients and their doctors, physical therapists, psychologists, or other health care providers.

Do you need special equipment? It is suitable for anyone who has access to a landline phone, a cell phone, or tablet or a computer and a reasonable internet connection.

Who would want to use telehealth? There are lots of people who love the opportunity to talk to their provider without coming into the clinic. These reasons could include:

• You don’t WANT to leave your home (you are isolating due to health concerns or poor weather).

• You are UNABLE or not supposed to leave your home (caregiving or quarantine)

• You may not have time to come into the clinic for an update with your practitioner

• You don’t need hands on assessment or care

Many people are waiting for the COVID crisis to end before they take care of themselves. Health professionals concerned that they are suffering unnecessarily. We have no idea of when the COVID crisis might end.

How does someone get a telehealth appointment? Ask at your clinic if they offer telehealth (most do). Book a telehealth appointment. If you are doing a phone call visit, the doctor or therapist will call you at the appointed time. If you are doing a video telehealth visit, the clinic will send you an email with a link to click at your telehealth time. Click the link at the appointment time and your therapist, if not present already, will appear shortly.

Is there anything special about telehealth that you don’t get in clinic? As a therapist you get to see people in their natural habitat. You design home exercises using what people have at home and you trouble shoot the little things that can prevent people from doing the exercises that will make them better.

Does every therapist or doctor do telehealth? Some people like it more so than others. I personally enjoy telehealth. It is satisfying to reach people who otherwise would be waiting in pain and get them started on their recovery. I like that it relies on people to help themselves. Many people are concerned that they will be reliant on the healthcare provider and not be able to help themselves. Sometimes they are frustrated because they aren’t sure HOW to help themselves. A little bit of solid information about what they are experiencing and how they can get better can go a long way to help someone feel less anxiety, use less medication, sleep better, and be more active on a daily basis.

What if you start telehealth but it isn’t what’s best for you? While you are talking to your healthcare provider, it will become clear to one or both of you that it would be best if you came to the clinic. You shouldn’t need to repeat all of history of assessment so your first in clinic visit can be shorter. Telehealth is not meant for those who would best be served with hands on assessment or hands on care.

In collaboration with Alberta Orthotic & Prosthetic Centre, we have recognized that rehabilitation for amputees is limited in our city. With an expressed interest in this area by one of our physiotherapists, and with other members of our multi-disciplinary team we have launched an Amputee Rehab Program.

Amputees face unique rehabilitation challenges over their lifetime. At Group23, we offer a multi-disciplinary approach including physiotherapy, physiatry, sports medicine physician, massage therapy, sport psychology, and weight and lifestyle management, along with working closely with the patients’ prosthetist.

The rehabilitation approach is a full body assessment to help identify and work to meet each patient’s #RiseAbove SMART goals. As the program grows, we hope it will become a place for amputees to support each other in their rehab journeys, as well as become inspirations to each other and to everyone at the clinic. The current patients involved in the program are very motivated to improve their overall strength and function to allow them to reach goals including becoming elite athletes.

Sara is a motivated amputee that has been using the Amputee Program to help her reach her rehabilitation goals. Sara became an amputee in 2017 and has had limited individualized rehab since that time. Sara expressed her thoughts on her experience with the amputee program.

What are your goals from engaging in this rehab program? What drew you to the program? My main goal engaging in this rehab program is to gain strength and to reduce how much I compensate with my “good leg” to minimize long term impacts of my injury. My main draw to the program is Group23’s multidisciplinary approach – that I can have different specialists collaborating on my case instead of me having to be the middleman. I really believe in teamwork when it comes to rehabilitation and feel lucky to have found a program that believes in it as much as I do. 

In what ways has this program helped you so far? So far, this program has helped me activate my amputated side more than before. More importantly, it has helped me identify key areas of improvement to work on. 

How does this program compare to other therapy programs you have been involved with? The flexible hours allow me to work around my full-time work schedule which has been really helpful. This program also allows me to focus on certain activities that I’d like to do/learn alongside the basic rehab activities. The long-term vision has been very motivational for me. One of the main differentiators of this program for me is having multiple healthcare professionals collaborate on my case. 

Would you recommend this program to other amputees? Is there a particular stage in rehab you feel it is more suited for? Yes, I would recommend it to other amputees. I think any stage of rehab is suitable to start the program. Of course, getting involved sooner rather than later is always better – it gives you and your therapist a chance to build a strong foundation that you can always build on as you get more active and prevent issues related to overcompensating with your stronger side.