Frequently Asked Questions

No, physiotherapists are first contact practitioners so you can book an appointment with us without a referral from your GP. Depending on your pain or condition, your physiotherapist may contact your doctor or other appropriate health professionals to ensure you are receiving the appropriate assistance you need for your recovery.

A physiotherapist is someone who has completed a Bachelors or Masters degree in physiotherapy. A senior physiotherapist is a member of our team who has extra experience or undertaken further training in a specific area of physiotherapy and has a proven record of providing high level physiotherapy services. A titled physiotherapist is someone who has completed further post-graduate studies (typically a masters degree) and has expert knowledge in a specific area above what is gained in a general physiotherapy degree. They are recognised officially by the Australian Physiotherapy Association.

Yes, we offer HICAPS on the spot claiming and EFTPOS facilities at all locations. HICAPS supports most health insurance funds, however please refer to www.hicaps.com.au for more information.

Note: To claim on the spot health rebates, you must present your health insurance card at the time of payment. Alternatively, an invoice can be issued to allow for self-claiming through your private health provider.

Our appointments range from 30-60 minutes depending on the consultation. Our longer appointments are available if arranged with your physiotherapist prior to your consult.

Please bring any referrals/paperwork (relevant for NDIS, Return to Work SA, Chronic Disease Management plans, DVA or MVA claims) or scans such as X-Rays, Ultrasounds and MRI’s related to your condition.

Please wear loose fitting clothing that will allow access to and movement of the injured or painful areas. This allows for better assessment and therefore better understanding of your current pain or condition.

At Physio Fit we strive to get you back to full health and activity in as little treatments as possible, and as such, the number of consults required will be based on how well your injury is recovering on a session by session basis.

Yes! We accept Chronic Disease Management (CDM) plans (formally known as Enhance Primary Care or EPC plan).

Note: Please call to arrange your CDM/EPC appointment. We do not bulk bill however you will still be able to receive the Medicare rebate for your appointments with your CDM/EPC referral from your GP.

Yes! We accept all Return to Work SA (formerly Work Cover SA), DVA and CTP claims.

Note: Please call to arrange your Return to Work/ DVA/ CTP appointment. We do ask that you bring all the appropriate paperwork on your initial consult to ensure there is no delay in treatment and management.

Yes! We have the ability to see Self Managed and Plan Managed participants! **We are not able to see NDIA managed participants at this time. We work with a variety of conditions focused on helping you to move and feel better, allowing you to achieve your health and fitness goals with tailored physiotherapy exercise programs.

Note: Please call to arrange your NDIS appointment. You can also get in touch with us via our NDIS page and even learn more about how we can help you achieve your goals!

You will be given a series of exercises in order to speed up your recovery and prevent recurrence of injury. All exercises are trialed within your physiotherapy consult to ensure they are appropriate for you at that time. This may consist of strengthening and/or stretching exercises appropriate for the rehabilitation of your pain or injury. As some injuries or pains are ongoing, or have been present for months or even years, home exercises allow for improvement to continue further between physiotherapy appointments. The more recovery we can produce at home, the less you will need to see us in the clinic!

At Physio Fit, we not only want to rid you of your current pain, we want to provide you with the tools to stop it from coming back. After a thorough assessment and treatment, your physiotherapist will provide you with a diagnosis and a plan of attack for your condition. This ensures that both you and your therapist are all on the same page heading forward towards a full recovery!

Along with a diagnosis and prognosis, your physiotherapist will help to educate you as much as possible about the structures involved with your pain and what you can do at home to aid recovery. Education may be aimed at postural advice, exercise/ activity modifications or referrals to other health professionals that may be beneficial.

Further consults will focus on how your condition is progressing and follow up assessments will help determine whether your pain and function are improving appropriately. We always aim to provide you with the tools to continue recovery at home, as we believe that the less time you spend in the clinic, the better!

Some major private health insurance funds have created “Preferred Provider” or “Members First/Choice” programs which they heavily promote to their members during any enquiring about rebates for specific services. The true meaning of these terms are commonly misunderstood however. Being part of a “Preferred Provider” program has no relationship to the quality of the care you will receive. In fact, often it could actually mean the opposite!Who can be a Preferred Provider?

To become a “Preferred Provider”, clinics must nominate themselves and sign a non-negotiable agreement that they will reduce their fees to whatever the health insurer requests in order to lower the gap required by it’s members. This reduction in price is often 25-30% lower than the industry standard (and does not increase with CPI each year) and although on the surface seems like a great result for clients, it actually encourages poorer service and decreased client outcomes. There is no ‘selection criteria’ of a clinic based on quality of care nor are there reviews of how the clinic practices. This unfortunately promotes reduced quality of care models with shorter consultations to compensate for the reduced fees. It is also important to note that health funds pay a flat fee to all physiotherapists, whether they have 1 or 50 years experience, no matter the additional training undertaken.

Can I still use my Private Health Insurance at Physio Fit Adelaide?
You can definitely still use your private health insurance with us for all of our services, however we are not bound to the fees set by private health funds and their “Preferred Provider” schemes.

What is the Australian Physiotherapy Association’s (APA) position?
The APA is concerned that contractual arrangements between Australian physiotherapy clinics and private health insurers create an imbalance of power. The APA submits that:

• The APA remains concerned that health funds actively divert their members to network providers, regardless of existing therapeutic relationships.
• The APA believes the term ‘preferred’ might make a patient think a practice is of a particular standard than those practices that are not preferred. This is not the case. By being a preferred provider, a physiotherapist simply elects to join the scheme and bring their fees in line with what the health funds mandate. We know this is a significant disadvantage to physiotherapists and that keeping fees close to market rates is essential to maintain the financial viability of a physiotherapy business.
• The current competition laws do not serve the interests of consumers of privately insured ancillary health services as preferred provider schemes discourage competition and restrict consumer choice of health services;
  Section 46 of the Competition and Consumer Act 2010 (CCA) prohibits a corporation with a substantial degree of power in a market from taking advantage of that power for one or more prohibited anti-competitive purposes. The APA submits that preferred provider schemes encourage a misuse of market power, as demonstrated by BUPA’s market saturation in South Australia
• Existing unfair and unconscionable conduct provisions of the CCA should be strengthened to provide a more efficient and equitable basis upon which the forces of competition can operate; and
• The experience of small businesses is that most small physiotherapy practices are reluctant to engage the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) for fear of damaging their relationship with private health funds.

Physio Fit Adelaide’s position
Our team do not believe that they could offer you and your family their current high level of service if they were bound by some of the terms and conditions within the “Preferred Provider” or “Members Choice” agreements. We offer longer appointments than our competitors and have access to technology and facilities that many clinics do not invest in.

At Physio Fit Adelaide you are receiving quality, comprehensive care and that will always be our number one priority.. We hope this information has assisted your decision-making process and to better understand why we are not involved in private health fund preferred provider schemes.