10 Most Frequently Asked Questions – Telehealth
- What is Julie’s approach to care and how can she help remotely?
- Does my private health insurance cover telehealth sessions with Julie?
- Do I need a prescription?
- What do I need to do to prepare for my telehealth evaluation?
- What can I expect from my telehealth evaluation session?
- What can I expect from my telehealth follow-up sessions?
- How long is each session?
- How frequently will I attend sessions and for how long?
- What forms of payment do you accept?
- Why is telehealth with Julie only available to residents of California?
what is Julie’s approach to care and how can she help remotely?
Julie uses movement and fitness as medicine. Her consultative approach has always been education and movement (brain and body) based care that you can independently carry over into your daily life and fitness. Her hands-off, external, and functional interventions lend themselves beautifully to remote consultation. The focus of virtual care is to build a therapeutic program that integrates central control and movement strategies into your function, movements and current fitness. Self-care, independence and application of the strategies and concepts into a regular, patient driven fitness without aches and pains, pelvic/abdominal health considerations, pregnancy/postpartum needs or return to fitness barriers is the ultimate goal of the program.
Please view the video blog series “The Fit Floor” 1-3 and read her blog “Fitness is the Path” to better understand Julie’s clinical approach.
does my private health insurance cover telehealth sessions with Julie?
Julie Wiebe is a licensed Physical Therapist. However, please be aware that Julie is not an in-network provider for any insurance carrier. Her services can be submitted for reimbursement as an out-of-network physical therapy provider. Your percentage of reimbursement is dependent on your policy. Please check with your health insurance carrier to determine the details of your coverage for telehealth physical therapy with an out-of-network provider before starting treatment.
Payment is required at the time of service. Julie will provide an invoice (superbill) at the end of each session that you can submit to your insurance or medical savings plan to seek out-of-network reimbursement. Some insurance carriers have a cap on how many dollars they will reimburse or sessions they will allow. You are responsible for understanding your telehealth coverage for out-of-network providers. Please discuss with Julie if there are changes in your benefits status, or if you do not have a private benefit carrier. A sliding payment scale is available during the Covid-19 crisis.
***Julie is not a certified Medicare or Medicaid provider. The law is very clear. Non-certified physical therapists may not see Medicare or Medicaid patients. Even during the Covid-19 crisis. ***
do i need a prescription?
The short answer is YES! The long answer? Patients can directly access a Physical Therapists in California without a prescription (Rx) for the first 30-days of treatment only. However, because of the nature of telehealth and Julie’s practice approach, 30-days goes fast. To spare an interruption in care, Julie is now requiring patients to get a prescription prior to the initial evaluation. In addition, some insurance companies (Anthem Blue Cross in particular) may still require a prescription in order to reimburse for the first 30-days of service, it is your responsibility to confirm the policies of your health insurance carrier. Just a reminder, Julie does not accept insurance but you can submit the provided invoice (superbill) to your insurance for an out-of-network provider. (Click here to download a prescription to take with you to the doctor or simply ask them to fax us a prescription with a diagnosis at (818) 332-4939).
What do I need to do to prepare for my telehealth evaluation?
Once scheduled, you will be provided with a link to our electronic medical record (EMR) keeping portal. Through the portal, you will fill out intake forms to share your story, view privacy policies, review and provide consent for care. Please complete the forms 48-hours ahead of the evaluation to help Julie prepare. Our EMR system will generate an invoice (superbill) for you to submit to your insurance and can take payments for your session.
In order to optimize our time together, we have found that using shared photographs and videos helps to bridge the distance between us and ensures visual clarity for an accurate assessment. In addition, we can use the photos and videos to monitor your progress, and explore new movement challenges. To prepare for the first visit, you need to provide some pictures and videos of movements and your fitness of choice. We will send you a link to a short video that demonstrates the pictures and videos needed, and the video angles requested (front, side, etc.).
To share the information, you will be provided a unique link to a private Google Folder created just for you to upload the pictures and videos. This folder is in a HIPAA compliant, protected version of Google Drive. Only you, Julie Wiebe and her administrative team will have access to the folder. Your pictures and videos will remain private. Please upload the pictures and videos 48-hours before the visit to help Julie prepare.
Please view the video blog series “The Fit Floor” 1-3 and read her blog “Fitness is the Path” to better understand Julie’s clinical approach.
what can I expect from my telehealth evaluation session?
You will be provided with a link to join the visit on the telehealth platform at your assigned date and time (Embodia). Once on the platform, we will be able to see each other and communicate in real time. This will be your opportunity to share your story. This will help fill in the rest of the picture painted by the information and videos you provided pre-visit. Together, through collaborative conversation, we will connect the dots from your story, and the clues in your physical assessment with the issues you are experiencing. We will begin to build a plan that will include rebuilding central control, targeted exercises, new ideas, and movement and fitness strategies you can implement immediately. Please wear exercise gear or loose fitting clothing.
what can i expect from my follow-up sessions?
Follow-ups are scheduled weekly, bi-weekly or monthly depending on how well you are progressing through the program, how much practice you need, and how soon you will be ready for an exercise progression. Each session builds on the information and exercises learned at the previous session. We will monitor and modify the program as we integrate new strategies into meaningful function, movement, and fitness. You will be given homework at each session for you to work on until your next session. Self-care, independence and application of concepts into a regular, patient driven fitness without aches and pains, pelvic/abdominal health issues or return to fitness barriers is the ultimate goal of the program. Follow-up appointments last 1-hour, unless an extended session is pre-scheduled.
how long is each session?
Evaluation and follow-up sessions are usually scheduled for 75-90 min, and 60 min respectively. If there are significant physical issues and complications an extended 2-hour sessions may also be recommended.
how frequently will i attend sessions and for how long?
Treatments are usually scheduled at weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly intervals. Each session builds on the previous session. How quickly you progress through the program depends on multiple factors, including your ability to pursue the homework on your own.
How long you will require care will be an ongoing conversation between you and Julie. Factors to be considered are the severity of your issues, your ability to be compliant with the exercises, and how well you can incorporate the information into your body. With good compliance, consistency with follow-ups and understanding of the materials most women require about 6-8 sessions, spread over 2-6 months.
what forms of payment do you accept?
Payment is due at the end of each session. This can be accomplished electronically through the electronic medical record keeping portal or through PayPal (all major credit cards or PayPal). Julie Wiebe, PT is not an in-network provider for any insurance carrier, and does not provide direct billing to insurance carriers. You will be provided an invoice (superbill) at the end of each session that you may file with your insurance or medical savings plan for reimbursement. You are responsible for understanding your benefits for telehealth with an out-of-network provider.
why is telehealth with Julie only available to California residents?
Due to regulations, both federal and state, physical therapists in the US are only allowed to provide medical services to residents of the state in which they are licensed. Unfortunately, until significant regulatory changes occur, our hands are tied to extend medical services beyond the California border. It is truly maddening.