No wait to see our orthopaedic surgeon – We offer immediate telemedicine consultation
Acumen Clinic has always needed to be unique in the way we’ve provided care to our patients. We have treated patients from Port au Port, Newfoundland to Victoria, British Columbia. We have always been flexible with online virtual visits and Telehealth. Now, given the importance of social distancing, Acumen Clinic is going completely online for initial evaluations and all of our rehabilitation services. LeeAnne and Cayla, our athletic therapists, are already skilled in working with patients and athletes needing physiotherapy, exercise progressions and personal training and are continuing to treat our patients who have just had surgery. Here’s what you can expect from a surgical evaluation with me.
We are booking hour-long appointments on FaceTime or Skype for our new patients. It gives the time necessary to listen to the story of your injury or problem. I’ve found over the past 2 years of longer appointments that I can really get to the heart of a patient’s problem by just listening.
At Acumen Clinic we have access to NetCare for Alberta patients. Many of our out-of-province patients send in discs of previous imaging that I review. With Skype there is an ability to screen-share so I can go over the imaging. For patients that do not have imaging I can suggest the best approach to getting the right diagnosis with advanced imaging, if necessary.
The one thing that is missing is the physical exam, which I use to confirm the diagnosis and make sure that the imaging results make sense. Given the risks of venturing out we are delaying physical examination for now, and offering to get telemedicine patients in as soon as possible when safe after COVID-19 infection risk decreases. That means that our telemedicine visits cannot be diagnostic.
A large part of the telemedicine visit will be describing all the options for treatment. I feel that an informed patient is the best to make choices about their health. Surgery is a huge commitment on a patient’s part. There are risks, costs and a lot of effort that go into a successful outcome. By explaining all the options and comparing surgical and other treatments my patients feel comfortable that they have made the right choice, and that’s the experience we deliver on the phone and in person!
If there are options for rehabilitation for your shoulder, elbow or knee issue then our reconditioning team will be ready to provide home exercises and support through an included Skype session to make sure that you are successful at home with exercises. We are also working to provide simple, effective equipment by delivery to expand the number of home exercises you can perform.
If surgery is needed we will work to provide a date after elective surgical services start up again. We perform surgery at non-hospital surgical facilities in British Columbia and Alberta and hope that they will re-open soon.
Call us to set up an appointment and start your healing journey now. Even though we can’t sit in the same room you will still feel our circle of care join you as you start your path to recovery.
