Help is Here!

How Often Have You Made Use of the Super Helpful Practice Advice Team?

Last month we had 100 more calls to our Practice Advisors than we had had the month before (that’s up from the usual 200+ monthly calls and 100 emails we get).

We’re really excited about this because we think it means that we are offering a useful service to you.

And what’s useful to you will be useful to the patients you treat, right?

Why did you call?

Maybe you called because you were surprised by an email about the ongoing advertising audit (we’ve had a few of those).

Some of you called because your payment was declined by an insurance company for services you provided to a patient and you wanted help sorting that out (we are doing our best to advise you on this issue too).

Others called for advice about how to talk to a boss who was asking for you to behave in a way that will result in you breaching a standard you’re accountable to follow.

Some of you wanted to talk through a clinical question.

No matter why you call us, we pledge:

• Your anonymity will be protected, unless you waive it
• We will do our best to give you clear and direct advice
• We will be a non-judgmental sounding board to help you find solutions, hear your gripes or assist you to find the resources that you need

It is important to us to continue to make this service better—more useful to anyone who wants to reach out to us.

It’s our goal is to answer the phone when you call, so that you don’t have to leave a message or try over and over to reach us.

We know that when you make the effort to get in touch, you likely need to speak to someone as soon as possible.

Meet the Advisors

Sometimes it helps to put a face to a name. Many of you have met or spoken with Fiona Campbell or Shari Hughes. We recently added a third Practice Advisor to our team, Kelly Schmitt. You are in good hands with these PTs. (Picture above and bios below).

Who Else Can Use this Great Service?

Did you know that you can direct your patients, family members, caregivers or anyone else who would benefit from it, to this service? The Practice Advisors can also share information about what to expect from physiotherapy and refer patients and others to a number of helpful resources in Ontario.

We can make this service even better than it already is, if you TELL US HOW TO DO IT.

Please take a minute and complete this short survey or leave a comment on my blog about your experience with the College Practice Advisors.

Tell us what you think and make any suggestions on how to improve the service or let us know what you need from us.

Looking forward to hearing from you and thanks for taking the time to share your ideas.

 

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Practice Advisor Bios

Fiona Campbell has more than 20 years of experience working as a physiotherapist in acute, rehab and community practice settings. She joined the College in 2007 as the Quality Assurance Director and now works as the Senior Physiotherapist Advisor. You may have met her when she visited communities across Ontario last year, talking about the new Working with Physiotherapist Assistants Standard. Watch for her as she hits the road again in September!

Shari Hughes has been a PT for more years than she would like to admit. She joined the College in 2006 as an Associate Registrar with responsibilities for Quality Assurance, Registration and Practice Advice. Shari is thrilled to be working again at the College and providing Practice Advice on a part-time basis.

Kelly Schmitt practices as a PT in an out-patient setting treating acute musculoskeletal conditions. She previously worked as a Practice Assessor and Practice Enhancement Coach for the College. She is enjoying her new role with the Practice Advice team and encourages everyone to make use of this amazing service. We’re here to help!