Hi everyone,

We think we have found our delicate balance of helping people through emergent injury/pain and keeping our practitioners home to respect social distancing and governnment orders.  Until the state of emergency changes and Stage One of the "Re-Open Saskatchewan Plan" comes into effect May 4, our clinic will be operating as follows:

 

Emergent (in clinic):

PHYSIOTHERAPY and CHIROPRACTIC appointments will be available in the clinic in the mornings.  You can book these online, or call 306.779.1275 and our receptionist can help you schedule.  Please be advised that we have limited reception hours and limited appointments available.  The evening prior to your appointment, you will receive an email with a short questionnaire that must be filled out.  This helps us ensure your situation is emergent, as well as the government recommended screen for COVID-19.  If you are unwell, you can NOT use the appoiment option.  Please choose a virtual option until you are healthy again. 

 

Virtual care offerings: 

Mental health services will all continue either virtual or through the phone.  You can choose a counsellor and the option for an end-to-end encrypted video appointment, or have the practitioner call you.  Please ensure that your email and phone number are current.

Exercise therapy and group fitness will continue through virtual sessions. 

Physiothearpy can also be provided through virtual video-based appointments.  This is a great option for pain management, exercise and movement analysis, home program updates, and self-care programming.  There is the option to have your physiotherapy assessment done in person, if emergent, and then the follow-ups can be completed either virtually or in person. 

 

Payment:

We are now able to accept payment through our booking software.  When you book online, you will be prompted to enter your credit card in the secure portal.  Our software is Canadian.  If you were not prompted to enter your credit card details when booking, you will receive and email after your appointment.

Receipts for your insurance will be emailed at the completion of the appointment, once payment has been received. 

 

Safety:

For our Emergent, in-clinic appointments, you must be well to enter the facility.  This is for the protection of our staff and the community at large.  If you are unwell, you should be staying home.  Period.  There are NO EXCEPTIONS.

We have created buffer time between appointments to limit the number of people in the clinic, and mitigate a line-up at the reception desk. 

The buffer allows the practitioners to clean their space with hospital-grade disinfectant between each client.

We ask that you attend your appointment alone, if possible.  Also, please be prompt to avoid waiting in our facility. 

Payment can be done online instead of through cash or using our credit card terminal, and we encourage you to rebook online as well. 

We are closely monitoring the Government of Saskatchewan care guidelines, and will adjust as advised. 

 

We know that injuries, pain, physical, mental & emotional distress do not stop during the pandemic.  We empathize with all of those seeking care, and truly believe we have struck a safe and responsible method of providing help.  We are open, and you are not alone.  We welcome suggestions, please email admin@brownstonehealth.ca if you think of something that we could do to make this easier on all involved.  

 

Stay safe.  Stay healthy. 

 

Respectfully,

All of the folks at Brownstone Health that miss seeing you in person!

 

 

Here is the definition of "urgent" or "emergent" care:

The definition of urgent/emergent care is important, yet difficult to quantify.  The Saskatchewan College of Physical Therapists obtained legal advice, as well as direction from the ministry of health, to create the Practice Guideline below.  This will be the foundation for treatment by physiotherapists and chiropractors providing in person care at Brownstone Health during the COVID-19 Pandemic.  It is incredibly important to us, as a clinic, that we follow these guidelines explicitly.   

Simply put, please book an emergent appointment if you are otherwise healthy and:

1. you have injured yourself and are contemplating going to the emergency department, primary health clinic or a hospital, we would like to help prevent overloading of an acute care system preparing for an influx of patients with the virus, by assessing musculoskeletal injury.

2. you have a condition that is going to get much much worse (to the point that you can not function) if you don't receive immediate care, we would like to help.

3. you have recently had surgery or an alternate medical procedure and require follow-up care in order to have a favourable outcome.

 

 

Here is the information provided by our Regulatory Body:

SCPT Practice Guideline

Determination of “urgent services or procedures” (COVID-19)

 

Background

The Chief Medical Health Officer for Saskatchewan issued a Public Health Order (PHO) on March 26, 2020 in relation to the current COVID-19 pandemic, prohibiting certain activities and ordering closures of some businesses. Clause 2(d) of the PHO orders all physical therapy clinics to only provide “urgent services or procedures” in person.

As always, all physical therapists are expected to work within the requirements of the Orders of the Government of Saskatchewan and the Federal Government, Legislation, SCPT bylaws, Standards of Practice and Code of Ethical Conduct.

Given the variety of practice settings and patient types, what is “urgent” may be defined differently in different settings. Therefore, the practitioner’s professional and ethical judgement to determine what is considered urgent with regards to their individual patients and situations will be imperative.

This Practice Guideline provides assistance to practitioners to make that determination.

 

Guiding principles and factors to consider in determining urgency

According to SCPT legal advice, a guiding principle in the decision making should be will the failure to provide the service or procedure result in serious harm to the patient.

Some factors to consider in determining urgency of care are:

-        Would a physical therapy assessment or treatment allow for more efficient utilization of acute healthcare resources?  

-        Physiotherapists who are employed by Saskatchewan Health Authority are essential services. Physiotherapists that work in that setting must take direction from their employers to guide decision making.

Services or procedures provided to patients with these characteristics may be characterized as being of greater urgency.

 

Risk versus benefit of treatment

Physical therapists should also keep in mind the following provisions of the Code of Ethical Conduct: 

7. Physical therapists shall not treat clients when the medical diagnosis or clinical condition indicates that the commencement or continuation of physical therapy is not warranted or is contraindicated;

8. Physical therapists shall request consultation with, or refer clients to, colleagues or members of other health professions when, in the opinion of the physical therapist, such action is in the best interest of the client.

 

Thus, if a patient possesses risk factors for the development of severe disease from COVID-19 (age over 60, co-morbid conditions, immunocompromised, etc.) this may mean that the risk of in-person physiotherapy service delivery is greater than the likelihood of benefit, in which case, in-person services should be deferred and appropriate referrals/education should be made.

 

Documentation

In each case the physical therapist shall document their rationale as to how and why they made the determination that the provision of physical therapy services or procedures to a patient was urgent or not urgent.

 

Pre-screening

It is recommended that, prior to providing any physical therapy services or procedures:

 

Treatment Precautions