FAQs

A doctor’s referral is not necessary to attend this practice as a private out-patient. A medical referral is necessary to see a physiotherapist if you are claiming the injury/treatment through a third-party insurer such as Workcover, Department of Veteran’s Affairs, or Accident Insurance.

No, physiotherapy fees are not covered by Medicare.

However some chronic conditions may be subsidised by Medicare, these can only be approved by your Doctor. Only these patients with chronic conditions & complex care needs that are being managed by their doctor under a Chronic Disease Management (CDM) plan can claim Medicare benefits for physiotherapy treatments. Benefits can be claimed for up to five (5) allied health services in a calendar year from eligible allied health professionals (AHP) such as physiotherapists, occupational therapists, podiatrists, etc.

Members in health funds who have extras or ancillary type cover will normally have part of the cost of our fees rebated, but not the full amount. We encourage you to personally check with your fund regarding the amount of rebate that will be provided and any limits there may be before any treatments are commenced.

Physiotherapy is available to patients admitted into the hospital and at the request of their doctor, these referrals will be forwarded to us. Of course, if you have a physiotherapist that normally looks after you and would prefer that therapist to treat you whilst you are in hospital, you would need to notify the ward staff prior to any referral being passed onto us.

If you belong to a private health fund, it is important that you are fully aware of the entitlements of your membership. Downs Physiotherapy accepts no responsibility for the completeness of your private health insurance knowledge and we would strongly recommend that you clarify with your private health insurer exactly what you are covered for.

Some private health funds have established special arrangements with certain hospitals whereby their members, providing they have hospital cover, will have no out-of-pocket expenses following their stay in the hospital (phone, papers, etc. excluded). This arrangement is called “bundling”.

Accounts for physiotherapy will be billed directly to and paid by the hospital under these special arrangements. Please check with your health fund and the hospital in which you will be admitted to see if such arrangements exist.

Where no such arrangements exist, patients will receive an account from us after being discharged from the hospital. This account will be separate from your hospital account.

On average, each appointment will take half an hour. This will depend on the nature of the condition treated and the therapist involved.

Please bring any referrals, documentation and relevant test results such as X-Rays.

This will depend on the type of treatment you are receiving. Generally we recommend that you wear loose, comfortable clothing. If you have any concerns, check with the practitioner prior to your appointment.

We suggest that you wear either a swimming costume (togs) or shorts and a tee shirt.

Some private health funds have established special arrangements with the two private hospitals in Toowoomba that include the cost of physiotherapy. This arrangement is called “bundling”.

Where such an arrangement exists, health fund members, providing they have hospital cover, will have no out of pocket expenses (phone, paper etc. excluded) for intrinsic of care physiotherapy treatment following their stay in hospital. Where such an arrangement exists, accounts for physiotherapy will be forwarded directly to the hospital.

We strongly recommend that you confirm with your health fund, and the hospital into which you will be admitted, to confirm whether or not such an arrangement exists.

In cases where no such arrangements exist between a health fund and the hospital or if you do not have private health insurance, patients will receive an account from us after being discharged from hospital and this account will be separate to any hospital account you may receive.

Yes, but this will depend on the level of cover that you have chosen with your private health insurer. Members in health funds who have extras or ancillary type cover will normally have part of the cost of our fees rebated, but not the full amount. We encourage you to personally check with your fund regarding the amount of rebate that will be provided and any limits there may be before any treatments are commenced.

We are happy to see Workcover patients, however; we will need a valid medical certificate and a claim number from Workcover. If Workcover does not accept a claim, then the cost of any services that we provide will become your responsibility.

No. Workcover rates for physiotherapy do not cover the full cost of our fees and as such we apply a small co-payment in order to cover this short fall. This co-payment will be at your expense and cannot be claimed back from Workcover.

Whether you have a Gold or White Card you will require a referral (D904) from your doctor in order for DVA to cover the cost of your physiotherapy.

Payment is required at the conclusion of each consultation. The rebate from your health fund can be transacted through the HICAPS system with the balance for the payment to be made as either cash, EFTPOS, credit card or cheque. If you need to cancel your appointment, it is requested that you provide adequate notice (at least 24 hours notice if possible) as then the appointment time can be used by another client.