Research shows that Virtual Physiotherapy is equally as effective as in person Physiotherapy. Furthermore, by empowering you, the patient, to take care of your recovery and rehabilitation in the comfort of your own home environment reduces the dependency on visits to a healthcare provider and speeds up your recovery.
It is with this proven virtual care approach, that we are excited to be part of the Discovery Arthroplasty Network Programme in improving lives of patients following a hip or knee replacement. It is important to note that in order to qualify for this benefit, you will need to have a “short-stay” event in hospital. Your medical scheme defines this as 2 days or less in hospital.
We are excited to compliment the care you are currently receiving from your Doctor, Physiotherapist and other healthcare providers, with the added safety, support and care you need in order to achieve your optimal recovery and independence following a hip or knee joint replacement.
Here is a video to give you an idea of what you can expect:
Frequently asked Questions
How does the programme work?
Before your operation
- To kick off your journey to recovery, you will need to Book your Onboarding Appointment using the link in the button at the top and bottom of this page, for a date and time convenient for you. Be sure to do this well before your scheduled hospitalization. You will receive confirmation of this booking.
- In this appointment, a skilled onboarding specialist will explain the Genie Health system to you, answer any questions you have, assist you in loading the Genie app to your device of choice, and ensure that you can log in and activate a video call.
- She will then run through a few short questions with you, that will go a long way in assisting the physiotherapist in their session
- Once this is complete, she will book an online appointment with one of our physiotherapists, who will do an online assess and provide you with your home programme, shortly after being discharged from the hospital.
After being discharged from the Hospital
- Your scheduled online physiotherapy consultation will take about 30 minutes. The physiotherapist will assess your condition through questioning and evaluating movements using our secure in-app video feature. She will also validate if the programme is the right fit for you, and if so, you will get:
- Daily exercises and tasks as part of a home exercise programme within the Genie App
- Educational resources to view
- Outcome measures to answer
Who is going to be taking care of me?
Our highly skilled physiotherapists that have experience in the management of post-surgical recovery and virtual care.
Communicating with the care team
You can at any time securely message your care team, and they will get back to you. The team will quickly (reactively and pro-actively) respond to any issues they see coming from your metrics (pain scores, range of motion, compliance to the programme etc)
The follow-up video physio calls are very focused, as the physio will have all of your required data at their fingertips. They will correct issues they see, introduce new concepts into your programme and tell you about major considerations based on the phase of recovery you are in. There may be interim video calls with the clinical team if they see something that needs correcting before your next official physio call.
How long is the programme
The Virtual Care programme is a 4-week personalised and comprehensive programme, that is ideally positioned to empower you in your recovery journey. It is a dynamic programme, being adjusted regularly, based on your progress.
At the end of the 4-week period, your scheme and plan benefits will apply.
Do medical aid benefits cover this treatment?
Yes, various schemes administered by Discovery Health cover the Short Stay Arthroplasty Programme from your risk benefit, meaning this is a covered benefit and carries no cost to eligible members.
It is important to note that eligible cases are considered to be those where the patient spends 2 days or less in hospital. While you have been identified by your surgeon as being a good candidate for this short stay programme, should you find that you will be spending more than 2 days in hospital, you will no longer be eligible for this benefit and your scheme and plan benefits will apply for post-surgical physiotherapy support.
Does the patient need to be “tech savvy” to use this?
No, you do not need to be tech savvy to use this programme. We have designed the programme to be easy to use, even if you have never used a smartphone or tablet before. You will need access to good Wi-Fi or cellphone service, and a fairly modern smart device (tablet or cellphone that is not more than five years old) that can run apps from the Google Play Store or the Apple iStore. The platform itself is all about connecting you to your programme and to your remote clinical team.
What should I do if I am interested in learning more?
If you have been directed to this page by a link received from Discovery Health, you are most likely eligible to take part in this programme. Please go to the “Book your onboarding appointment here” button below to be onboarded to start your journey to recovery, and to discuss the programme further with one of our Onboarding Specialists.