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Frequently Asked Questions
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Is a doctor’s referral required?
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A doctor’s referral is not required to see a physiotherapist in
private practice. However, some extended health insurance benefit plans
will not pay for treatment unless a physician’s referral is obtained.
Always check your benefits policy prior to accessing these services.
Unfortunately, a physician’s referral is required if you wish to attend
physiotherapy in a hospital or through an OHIP funded clinic.
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What should I expect at a Physiotherapy Assessment?
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Physiotherapists need to test and measure muscle flexibility, strength
and joint mobility to determine the biomechanical cause of a physical
problem. Through partnership with the physiotherapist, a personalized
treatment program is developed. Initial assessment will take
approximately one hour. Subsequent treatments will be of 30 to 45
minutes duration.
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Is there OHIP coverage for physiotherapy services?
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Physiotherapy is not covered by OHIP unless the facility you are
attending has a license to bill OHIP. In Cambridge, our OHIP Clinic (formerly Harrington
Physiotherapy, 519 621-3035) has this billing privilege. In 1964, the
Ministry of Health stopped issuing OHIP licenses to physiotherapy
clinics. There have been no new licenses issued since that time.
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Is there non-OHIP coverage for physiotherapy services?
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The following can cover physiotherapy services:
- Extended health insurance plans or benefits programs associated with your employment
- Auto Insurance
- Veteran‘s Affairs
Most extended health insurance plans or benefits programs include
coverage for physiotherapy services. Coverage can have a one time
deductible fee, a lifetime maximum, a yearly maximum, a treatment
maximum or a percentage maximum. It is your responsibility to inquire
about your coverage.
If you have been involved in an automobile accident, you have the
privilege of accessing physiotherapy services without a physician's
referral. These services are paid for by your automobile insurer and,
if you have coverage, by your extended health benefits plan. If you
have no coverage, the automobile insurer will provide payment for these
services.
Veteran's affairs provide some coverage of physiotherapy services for those who fought in the war.
At Grand River Physiotherapy & Rehabilitation Centre, all physiotherapy is provided by registered physiotherapists.
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- I was in a car accident. How can I get help?
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What can physiotherapy treat?
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Physiotherapy plays a vital role in healing, rehabilitation and
pain relief following bone, muscle, nerve, ligament and joint injuries.
Some physiotherapists can also treat disorders of dizziness.
This is called vestibular rehabilitation.
Physiotherapy treats injuries and diseases by correcting and
improving the body's own natural healing mechanisms without the use of
medication. It treats a number of disorders and injuries such as:
Sports injuries, neck and back disorders, headaches, joint problems,
fractures, orthopaedic conditions and pre and post-surgical conditions.
Dizziness is treated with special maneuvres that move errant inner
ear crystals back to where they belong. Sometimes exercises are given that recalibrate a reflex referred to as the vestibulo-ocular reflex. Balance exercises are also given.
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Information on Common Ailments
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Should I Ice my Recent Injury?
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If you sustained an injury recently, be it a bang, a trip, a fall, a muscle strain or joint sprain from
a sports injury or car accident, how can you get better faster? Would you choose to put
something hot or cold on your injury? We’ve all been confused by this choice; so which is it?
Well, the answer is COLD and preferably ICE if your goal is to speed up the healing process of
an ACUTE injury, which is another name for a recent injury. Here’s why.
When you tear a muscle or bang your arm, you break a group of blood vessels. Much like a
burst pipe spewing water into a room, the broken blood vessels bleed into the
injured area flooding it with blood. Believe it or not, all that blood impedes the healing process
because the body has to first clean up the mess caused by the broken blood vessels and
only then can it begin the repair process. If you can get ice onto the injury quickly enough, you
slow down the flow of blood into the injured area.
This is like turning off the water supply to a burst pipe. Now you’ve slowed the bleeding,
your body doesn’t have to spend more time cleaning up the extra blood before it can start
repairing the damaged tissue.
How long does the initial phase of an ACUTE injury last?
The Inflammatory Phase of an acute injury lasts from one to five days. The goal of
treatment during this time is to decrease the inflammation. Apply the acronym
RICE - Rest, Ice, Compression, Elevation following injury. During this time you should
put ice on your injury as frequently as ten minutes every hour that you’re awake. To avoid
ice burns put a damp fabric between the ice and your skin. You may also compress and
elevate the injured area and, as well, discuss the use of anti-inflammatory medication with
your doctor and/or pharmacist.
This information is only about how to
immediately manage a recent injury.
Management in the later stages of acute
healing and the management of a chronic
injury are both different than explained above.
For answers about how to optimize the healing
process of any injury contact us today.
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How do I make an appointment?
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Appointments may be made in person, by calling (519) 621-3265 or by emailing us info@grandriverphysio.ca or info@grpt.ca.
Appointments can be booked 3-4 weeks in advance.
Please provide us with at least 24 hours notice for cancellations.
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- How will I be billed?
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It is the client’s responsibility to ensure their account is up-to-date.
We require immediate payment of the assessment by those attending under
extended health care benefits. Subsequent treatments are billed on a
weekly basis and will be submitted by the client to their own
insurer. Treatments are to be paid within 30 days.
Those covered under their auto-insurer will not be required
to pay immediately due to the processing of necessary paper work.
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What is the Physiotherapy Motor Vehicle Accident Billing Procedure?
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If you have Extended Health Care Coverage either through your work or your legal partner’s work,
the Insurance Act requires us to bill for your treatments as follows:
All treatments have to be billed to your extended health. Your extended health may pay the full amount or a partial amount or none at all.
Whatever they pay will be detailed on the cheque stub. The cheque, the stub and any paperwork accompanying the cheque must be brought in to the clinic.
If your extended health pays less than the invoice, we then deduct what they paid and the balance is then invoiced to your auto insurance.
Because of the Private Policy Act, we cannot bill your extended health insurance directly.
Only you can do so therefore, we ask that you send your invoices to them on a weekly basis in order to expedite payment.
When there are two extended health insurance companies, (yours and your partner), we must first bill yours.
Whatever they don't pay we then bill the other insurance for the balance.
Whatever the second insurance doesn’t pay we can then bill the auto insurance. Again, all cheque stubs and paperwork must accompany the cheque.
If the above information isn’t explicit enough, please do not hesitate to talk to either Kim, our Office Manager, or Linda from accounts receivable.
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What do physiotherapy treatments cost?
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Charges for the assessment and treatment are in accordance with the
Ontario Physiotherapy Association Guidelines and are as follows:
| Dizziness Assessment | $120.00 (>1 hour) |
| Dizziness Treatment | $70.00 (30 - 45 minutes) |
| Orthopaedic Assessment | $95.00 (1 hour) |
| Orthopaedic Treatment | $60.00 (30 - 45 minutes) |
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What do massage treatments cost?
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Regular Massage
| 30 minutes | $45.00 + HST = $50.85 |
| 45 minutes | $60.00 + HST = $67.80 |
| 60 minutes | $70.00 + HST = $79.10 |
| 90 minutes | $95.00 + HST = $107.35 |
Hot Stone Massage
| 60 minutes | $85.00 + HST = $96.05 |
| 90 minutes | $110.00 + HST = $124.30 |
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- What is your policy for missed appointments?
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Our policy is to charge a $20 fee for missed appointments that were not cancelled
24 hours in advance. Our answering service operates 24 hours a day so
that cancellations can be called in to 519-621-3265 at any time.
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- Who are physiotherapists?
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Physiotherapists are licensed health care professionals who specialize
in improving movement and function, relieving pain and maximizing
movement potential. They help people achieve their highest level of
physical function through treatment and education.
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- What type of training do Physiotherapists have?
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Physiotherapists are university trained. Specialized postgraduate courses further enhance clinical skills and treatment effectiveness.
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- What are: deductible fees,
lifetime maximums, yearly maximums, treatment maximums and percentage
maximums with reference to extended health care benefits?
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Your extended health coverage may be subject to an annual deduction, a
lifetime maximum of funds, a yearly maximum of funds, a treatment
maximum or a percentage maximum per treatment. If you call your
insurance company as listed in your health benefits booklet, they can
give you all the details of your coverage. We encourage you to call
them yourselves.
Annual Deduction: Some companies require you pay a yearly
deductible fee when using your physiotherapy coverage. This is usually
a sum in the area of $25.00.
Lifetime Maximum: Some companies impose a lifetime maximum
meaning they will pay a set amount for physiotherapy over a long,
specified time period. (Example: $20,000 over 20 years)
Yearly Maximum: Many companies impose a yearly maximum. If, for
example, your yearly maximum is $500, then your insurance company
covers $500 worth of treatment. At Grand River Physiotherapy & Rehabilitation Centre
you have the option of attending physiotherapy with us until you have a
complete understanding of your condition as well as a comprehensive
home exercise programme at which point, if you require, say, continued
mechanical traction, you could attend Harrington Physiotherapy where
your treatments will be covered by OHIP.
Treatment Maximum: Your benefits plan could specify a treatment
maximum in the form of a specified number of visits, a specified amount
of coverage per visit or a specified amount of coverage per visit in
the form of a fixed percentage. . For example, if your treatment
maximum is $20 then the insurance company will cover the first $20 of
each treatment and you will be responsible for the remainder. Or, for
example, if your treatment maximum is 80% per treatment then the
insurer will pay 80% of your treatment and you will be responsible for
the remaining 20%. Occasionally, there will be a yearly maximum and a
percentage maximum per visit. In this case, if for example, your yearly
maximum is $500 and they pay 80%, then your insurer will pay only 80%
of a the total $500 meaning $400. They usually will not pay 80% of the
treatment until they have reimbursed you $500.
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