COVID19 #Physiotalk – The impact on private practice Mon 25th May

Our series of Monday nights tweetchats focussed on issues linked to COVID19 continues this Monday 25th May at 8pm BST

The focus this week is on the impact on private practice – an area of physiotherapy practice that has been especially hard hit during the pandemic.

Coronavirus

However, many clinics and practitioners have been fantastic innovators, moving consultations online in many different sectors. With lockdown beginning to lift, although at different rates in the four home nations, many private practitioners thoughts are now moving towards the future – but what will that look like? How long will virtual sessions be the norm and how do you move safely back to face to face sessions, whilst following public health guidance. What are your thoughts about the costs of virtual sessions – how have you set your pricing structure?

The issues faced have been beyond client facing problems of course. Whether you work as a self employed physiotherapist or a Limited Company – you will have had to answer many hard questions about how to work and keep your business afloat during the pandemic. You will have had to negotiate your way through eligibility for some of the government support schemes and perhaps discover that you cannot get support.

Then of course when practices restart, there is the thorny question of PPE – perhaps not so much about what to wear as where to get it from if it is in short supply!

Many of these are questions that face all private practitioners, but there may be specific questions facing some sectors. How do you run a Zoom session with a small child for example – have you thought through issues with consent, safety, insurance and the like. What if your private practice is with animals as a veterinary physiotherapist? What issues does that pose?

Our tweetchat will look to cover some of the main issues facing private practitioners whatever area you work in.

Questions to consider

How has the COVID19 pandemic affected you so far as a business – what issues with insurance, rate relief, grant funding?
What issues have you found in moving to virtual clinics – practical, ethical, financial?
How have you decided who to see virtually – any screening or decision making tools you have found useful
How and when are you planning a return to face to face when the guidance is still for a ‘virtual first’ approach?
What are your plans for obtaining PPE if you see patients face to face