Be Podiatry is a proudly registered provider under the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS). The National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) is a program funded by the Australian Government. The scheme is for Australians under 65 years of age, who have a permanent and significant disability. It is designed to help these individuals achieve their goals and live their life to their full potential. The scheme works by helping with costs associated with having a disability.
The NDIS is an essential service that provides funding to registered participants to access reasonable and necessary supports to help participants achieve their goals and live a full and independent life. Our team can provide a wide range of services to individuals to help them live fulfilling lives and reach their goals.
Podiatry is a valuable field that can provide a number of different pathways for management and interventions under the NDIS. To better understand how Podiatry can be utilised, we thought we’d provide a little insight into what we do and how we can help patients under NDIS!
What Conditions Can A Podiatrist Treat Under The NDIS?
We are able to provide services under the following categories.
- CB Daily Living
- Improved Daily living skills
- Assistive Technology
These services that are include under these categories are:
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- General Skin & Nail Care –For those who have trouble reaching their feet to carry out basic foot care such as cutting or clipping and filing toenails,removal of callous and or painful corns a podiatrist can help to look after and treat these areas.
- Nail Surgery – Ingrown toenail treatment and management. Be Podiatry can correct nail deformities with permanent solutions.
- Warts
- Biomechanical Assessments – NDIS clients who are experiencing pain and/or discomfort in the foot and/or lower limb which is affecting their ability to walk or exercise comfortably.
- Gait Analysis and Orthoses
- NDIS participants who need intervention through offloading of foot structures to reduce and prevent any discomfort and/or pain and to allow them to live life to its full potential
- Assistive Technologies: -Products that will help NDIS participants live their life to their full potential.
- Offloading devices ( Cam walker, Darco shoe)
- Toe spacers/separators
- Splints & Braces
- Strength and conditioning- Allows NDIS participants to regain strength and mobility through the ankle and the foot to help with day to day functions.
- Footwear Advice
Our teams ability to utilise the managements above is dependent on your plan and allocated funds. If you are unsure of your plans specifics or if NDIS will cover your Podiatry care you can check your plan or contact your support co-ordinator/case manager. Alternatively our team is very happy to contact your case manager to discuss what funding you have available to you.
What can I expect from my Initial NDIS funded appointment?
Our initial consultation is built around getting to know the patient and better understand their goals/ what they would like to achieve through podiatry. Ensuring that we have a well rounded understanding of a patient’s daily life, their support team and other practitioners involved in their care is essential. Once we have a better understanding of the patient’s background, we run through a full vascular, neurological, musculoskeletal and gait assessment. From here we will put together a short, mid and long term plan that we can begin to implement. How we can assist a patient and what their plan looks like is completely dependent on these goals and needs.
To help better understand our role, we wanted to walk you through the different facets of Podiatry.
Firstly, general skin and nail care is a common area of concern that we manage on a daily basis. Managing our nails is often a difficult task, particularly if they’re thick, varied in shape, fungal or have a history of ingrown nails. Alternatively, skin issues such as callous, corns, warts, psoriasis, blisters, dermatitis and tinea are all managed in the clinic via a number of different methods.
Secondary to general nail care, high risk foot care is one of the more serious facets of our profession. Patients with diabetes, peripheral neuropathy (lack of protective sensation), arterial disease or nerve damage. As a result of these systemic issues, the foot and lower limb is more susceptible to ulcers/wounds, infections, fractures and falls. This is where we see the intersection of general foot care and the biomechanical aspects of podiatry.
Biomechanics and load management of the foot and lower limb are essential factors in managing our foot health. As noted with high risk feet, repetitive stress and strain in the foot can lead to tissue breakdown, overuse injuries and on a long enough timeline degenerative change. On the flip side, other issues we may often see are increased falls and trip risk, balance or neurological changes, chronic joint degeneration, muscle weakness, fatigue with extended periods of activity and limb length differences to highlight a few commonly seen issues. Management of these issues can be undertaken in a number of different ways including orthoses, footwear modifications, splints and bracing, strength and conditioning, shockwave therapy, K-laser, dry needling and mobilization.
No matter what the type of issue and treatment, we ensure that our management/treatment plan correlates back to the patient’s goals and complements the support team’s management.
How Do I Claim Podiatry Through The NDIS?
Our team at Be Podiatry will help make claiming podiatry is simple and easy.
To help make this a streamline process. At the time of booking your appointment please let our team know you are a registered NDIS participant (if booking online a note left will be sufficient for our team to get in contact). Our team will ask for your NDIS number and other relevant information. If you’re self managed please bring your management plan, your NDIS number and your preferred payment method.
If you’re managed through a case manager/coordinator please provide us with your NDIS number, NDIS management plan, case manager name and their contact details.
If you have any questions our friendly admin support team and Podiatrists are more than happy to help with any questions.
Please get in touch on 9434 4422 or via email info@bepodiatry.com.au.