Seminar: Navigating the Wheelchair Assessment Process Together
– Real world meets reality
Thursday, 7 July 2022
Perron Place, Victoria Park
We enjoyed a fun day navigating the wheelchair assessment process with close to 100 allied health partners involved in the assessment, prescription, and funding of wheelchairs and seating systems.
Facilitated together with Prithy Sivaraman from the Sunrise Medical clinical education team, this seminar provided valuable information to occupational therapists and physiotherapists involved in the assessment, prescription and funding of seating and wheelchair prescription.
Prithy is a Physiotherapist who has been working with adults and children since 2007, prescribing complex seating and wheelchairs. She began her career in Perth and relocated to Adelaide 10 years ago to gain experience working with paediatric clients and alternative access controls for powered mobility. She currently works for Sunrise Medical as an educator and trainer.
As Sunrise Medical’s area manager for South Australia, Western Australia and the Northern Territory, Prithy works closely with the Unicare Health team, assisting with orders, account management, and the scripting of complex manual and power seating and wheelchair systems.
The goal of this seminar was to provide clinicians with the knowledge and skills needed to perform effective seating and mobility assessments, as well as to provide evidence and clinical justification for the seating and wheelchair options recommended for funding.
Prithy began her presentation by defining the golden phrase “reasonable and necessary.” She discussed individual goals, roles, and responsibilities, to define and outline what reasonable and necessary looked like for each individual.
She provided attendees with a comprehensive MAT assessment refresher and spoke passionately about seating considerations and postural support using JAY’s range of wheelchair cushions and wheelchair backrests.
Prithy discussed the features and considerations for manual vs. power wheelchairs, compared wheelchair frame types and seat bases, and outlined a process for gathering all of the information required for a clinician to make an informed decision on these critical options.
Everyone was given the opportunity to try out different wheelchair setup and positioning options, learn about the importance of camber and centre of gravity, and put theory into practise.
Attendees were taught to identify wheelchair parts, try out different seating options, appreciate differences in frame design and have a go at some tricky wheelchair skills outside.
Prithy also talked about the benefits and considerations for power assist devices such as the Quickie i-xpress and when this would be appropriate for an individual.
To assist with future wheelchair assessments and work involved in funding applications, everyone was provided with a documented funding framework as well as a suite of resources to help with justification of clinical reasoning and choices.
As Sunrise Medical’s premier distributor in Western Australia for Breezy and Quickie wheelchairs, JAY baskrests, JAY cushions and other wheelchair products, we look forward to sharing our product knowledge and walking the wheelchair assessment journey with each and every one of you.
“For many therapists who are new to the process, performing a wheelchair evaluation, scripting a wheelchair, and justifying it for funding can be an overwhelming process. Our product specialists have been trained to help OTs through this process so that they feel more at ease.”
– Annette Terranova, Clinical Educator and Trainer, Unicare Health
Thank you
We would like to thank Prithy Sivaraman and our friends from the Sunrise Medical clinical education team for working in partnership with us to facilitate this valuable session for our allied health partners, particularly those who are newer to the wheelchair assessment and NDIS funding process.
We would also like to thank everyone for spending their day with us and trust that you left with a good practical understanding of Sunrise Medical‘s wheelchair and seating system range, as well as the confidence to assess and prescribe seating/mobility systems that promote comfortable, attainable, and functional postures.
“At Unicare Health, we unicare about helping clinicians become more intelligent assistive technology (AT) prescribers. Being able to prescribe the right wheelchair and seating system for a person’s needs, environment and circumstances can significantly improve their quality of life. We trust that our training sessions will continue to impact how AT is prescribed to achieve better health and wellness outcomes.” #morethancare
Missed this session?
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Posted on 26 July 2022