Physiotherapy Telehealth – Update

There have been a number of changes to rebates for Telehealth Consults for Physiotherapy.

Read below to see how the changes may apply to you.

Private Health Insurance

From Tuesday 14 April several health funds will provided cover for one on one telehealth consultations with a physiotherapist.

For the cover to be applied the following conditions do need to be met:

• The customer is undergoing an existing course of treatment and has seen the physiotherapist over the past six months, or
• For new patients, the tele-physiotherapy service has been recommended by their general practitioner or relevant medical specialist, and the primary condition being treated is one of:
  • Post orthopaedic surgery rehabilitation (e.g. Total hip or knee replacement)
  • Chronic musculoskeletal condition (e.g. osteoarthritis)
  • Cardiac rehabilitation
  • Pulmonary rehabilitation, or
  • pelvic floor muscle training.

At this stage the cover lasts for consults prior to 30 September 2020.  You do need to check if the consult is covered by your particular health fund.

Payment for the consult will be required upfront.  You then claim the rebate by sending the invoice to your health fund.  HICAPS is not available for telehealth consults.

Different funds do have different rules and end dates. Further information can be found here.

Medicare

From 31 March 2020 until 30 September 2020, Medicare will now bulk bill telehealth consultations for those people with a current Chronic Disease Management plan.  The consult can either via video conferencing or via the telephone.

Workcover

Worksafe Victoria have approved the use of Telehealth Item codes.  Telehealth consults are only to be used when clinically appropriate and are not designed to replace face-to-face consults.  The worker does need to provide consent for the consult to take place and both parties need to ensure proper safety and confidentiality requirements are met.

TAC

The TAC have now approved the use of telehealth consults for use in physiotherapy.  This can be used for initial or ongoing appointments.  The same rules apply as for Workcover telehealth consults.

DVA

The DVA has also approved the use of Telehealth consults during the coronavirus outbreak.  The same treatment cycle rules apply to telehealth consults as to face to face consults.