Telehealth At Cooee

At Cooee Speech Pathology we understand that families and children lead busy lives.  For families who are finding themselves stretched for time travelling between appointments for children, who don’t live locally to access speech pathology and/or occupational therapy services, or would prefer to access therapy from the comfort of their own home, Telehealth sessions can be the perfect solution.   

What Is Telehealth?

Telehealth is the delivery of health-related services and information via an online platform and is an excellent alternative option to face to face therapy in the community. This flexible online service enables families to receive speech pathology and occupational therapy support from the comfort of their own home.  This online service is available for regular therapy sessions, NDIS participants, meetings and assessments for speech and occupational therapy intervention.

What Will You Need For Telehealth Sessions?

In order to engage in Telehealth sessions at Cooee you will need the following:

• A computer – This can be a PC or a laptop.
• A webcam and a microphone – These can either be inbuilt into your computer or laptop, or external.
• A strong internet connection – If you are concerned about the strength of your internet connection, you can create a mobile hotspot and then tether your device to this to access high speed internet.
• Adequate lighting.

How Does Telehealth At Cooee Work?

At Cooee, your therapist and our client care team talk you through the processes of booking, setting up your therapy space at home and what therapy will look like when accessing speech pathology and/or occupational therapy services via Telehealth.  

Zoom is the current platform that Cooee uses to conduct Telehealth sessions and our friendly client care team provides families with an easy to follow document with step by step information on how to prepare for your online sessions.  A frequently asked questions guide is also provided to help support families through the process and a video from one of our therapists explaining the process in detail is also emailed.

Once you have received this information, your therapist will be in contact with you prior to your initial session to take an inventory of items you may have at home that can be of use in your telehealth sessions.  Examples of these can include toys or resources that your child enjoys engaging with, pencils and paper or sensory items such as squishy balls, musical toys, elastic bands, velcro or heavy books.  Prior to your ongoing appointments, your therapist may also send through particular resources which may be needed to complete the therapy session such as reading passages, handwriting practice sheets or visuals.  Just like in face-to-face therapy sessions, your therapist will provide you with feedback and advice throughout the session in regards to goals and progress, as well as treatment notes at the conclusion of the appointment.

What Are The Benefits Of Telehealth?

There are many great benefits of Telehealth for families who are or who are looking to access speech pathology and occupational therapy services.

1. Telehealth is a great option for busy, time-poor families who would like to receive intervention but just don’t have the time to travel to an in-clinic service.  By accessing Telehealth from home, this provides families with more time in their schedules which would have otherwise been taken up with travelling.
2. The online platform of Telehealth provides therapists with a wonderful insight into what home practice looks like for families.  Parents and carers become the hands of the therapists in Telehealth sessions while playing games with their children.  Therapists are then able to gain a wonderful window into the way home practice would be conducted.
3. As therapists need parents and carers to be involved and hands-on in particular speech and occupational therapy interventions on Telehealth, therapists are able to give valuable direction and insight to caregivers.  This can be extremely beneficial to families to enable them to get the most out of home practice.
4. As speech and occupational therapy services can be quite difficult for rural families to access, Telehealth provides families in remote areas with an opportunity to receive quality intervention from the comfort of their own home.

Can I Use My Funding To Pay For Telehealth Sessions?

There are a variety of funding options which can be used for Telehealth sessions.  Here is some information around the various funding options.

• Private Health – All private health funds are different so we would advise that you contact your health fund directly with the relevant speech and/or occupational therapy telehealth codes relating to your assessment or therapy sessions.  Your health fund will then be able to give you an estimate of the rebate you will receive.  Our client care team would be happy to provide you with the relevant codes to assist your health fund.
• NDIS – Self, plan and agency managed participants who are receiving funding through the National Disability Insurance Scheme are able to use their funding for Telehealth services.  Our client care team will make sure your sessions are booked for the appropriate appointment type in order to claim.  
• Medicare – EPC’s (Enhanced Primary Care Plans) or CDM’s (Chronic Disease Management Plans) can be provided by your GP.  Your doctor will determine if your child is eligible and if so, will allocate up to 5 sessions towards speech and/or occupational therapy per calendar year.  Eligibility for this plan is based upon whether your child has a complex, or chronic condition, requiring ongoing care by a multidisciplinary team.  An EPC or CDM will entitle you to a refund from Medicare from the total session fee and does not cover the full amount for a session.  All sessions must be paid for in full prior to processing the plan and we do not bulk bill. The refund for an EPC or CDM is the same for an assessment or a regular therapy session.  Our client care team is happy to assist with providing the relevant item code for claiming these sessions.

Want more information? 

Please do not hesitate to contact a member of our friendly client care team at reception with any questions or to book a Telehealth speech pathology or occupational therapy session.  You can contact us here,  via email at [email protected] or call us on (07) 3265 4495.  We would be happy to help!

Giulia Hayward

Practice Manager