Physiotherapy Business

Physiotherapist’s service acknowledged

nzppaadm — Sat, 18 Feb 2012 18:50:43 +0000

Physiotherapy Business : NZPPA acknowledges and applauds the long service of physiotherapist Don McKenzie who was a nominee for Senior New Zealander of the Year. Since losing his sight at the age of five, Don has dedicated his life to helping those in need despite being unable to do many of the things we take for granted. Don has given his time and commitment to countless organisations, having served for more than 15 organisations in the physiotherapy, blind and disabled sectors throughout his lifetime. Don worked as a physiotherapist, owning his own practice for 40 years and even now at the tender age of 71 he is still helping the locals of Waiheke Island by treating their different aches and pains.

He has helped others with vision impairments through serving on the board of the Royal Foundation of the Blind for 28 years and being the Chair for 18 of those. He is currently the Chair of the Vision 2020 Trust which is committed to the prevention of blindness and vision loss in New Zealand.

Preventing Re-injury

nzppaadm — Sat, 11 Feb 2012 04:09:48 +0000

ACC seeks information on products, services and tools which reduce the occurrence and impact of re-injury in the working age population. It is estimated that approximately 85% of the 1.8 million claims accepted annually will go on to claim again for a related injury.

ACC is interested in hearing about suppliers and their products, services or tools that could reduce the severity and / or occurrence of re-injury. Go to the GETS website to access the RFP or contact NZPPA on office@nzppa.org.nz or 0800 697 720 for more information.

Smartphone Users Need Physiotherapy

nzppaadm — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 23:33:46 +0000

Health experts in Britain are warning the strain injuries stemming from long periods spent staring at small screens and tapping at tiny keys can be debilitating. And the injuries are becoming more common as high-tech gadgets grow ever more popular. A recent poll in Britain revealed that 44% of smartphone owners use their mobile phones for activities other than main calls for between 30 minutes and 2 hours a day.
Sammy Margo of the Chartered Society of Physiotherapy said human bodies were not designed to be used like this. As well as hand injuries, “text neck” (the latest form of repetition strain injury) is becoming more common. Injuries are treatable but smartphone users should not ignore the early warning signs.
This article has been abridged from a more extensive report published in the Marlborough Express on 8 December 2011.

Employment Law Changes

nzppaadm — Sat, 21 Jan 2012 19:14:38 +0000

Employment law changes signalled by the National-led Government for implementation in this term of office are unlikely to impact on NZPPA members, i.e. small-medium businesses. Among the changes proposed are those related to collective agreements and youth rates. However, National does propose to extend flexible working arrangements, currently only for workers who have caring responsibilities, to be extended to all employees. The law related to constructive dismissal is also proposed for review, to assist employers.

Ballooning tragedy

nzppaadm — Sat, 14 Jan 2012 19:17:53 +0000

Physiotherapy Business : NZPPA joins physiotherapists throughout New Zealand in mourning the loss of Diana Cox and her husband Howard in last week’s tragic ballooning accident in Carterton. Diana was the Administration Officer for the PAANZ Special Interest Group and her passing is a huge loss for the SIG and will leave a big gap in the PNZ office where Diana worked.

Keep Your Brand on Your Clients’ Radar

nzppaadm — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 23:47:43 +0000

Among the top ten New Year resolutions for 2012 are the usual perennials – get fit, stop smoking, lose weight, change lifestyle.

Make it one of your New Year resolutions to contact your clients NOW. Find out how their neck/knee/lower back/shoulder/ankle etc is going. This may be the one issue which is going to prevent them realising their New Year’s resolution.

One of the golden rules of marketing is to communicate regularly with your clients. If they haven’t heard from you in three months, you will slip off their radar. Get a newsletter or other communication out now (and update your website) highlighting how physio can help them achieve their New Year resolution goals.

Countdown to Holiday Break

nzppaadm — Sat, 17 Dec 2011 18:50:27 +0000

It’s time to get the festive season check-list going. Remember to: cancel the newspaper and any regular supplier deliveries, put a sign up to notify clients of days you will be open (or closed) and change the telephone voicemail greeting. The NZPPA office will close at end of day on Friday 23 December and re-open on Monday 9 January. A limited service will be available across the holiday break so members are welcome to send an email or leave a telephone message. We will endeavour to respond promptly. Best wishes to everyone for a happy Christmas and New Year and safe travels.

Media Releases express concern about ACC

nzppaadm — Sat, 10 Dec 2011 20:12:14 +0000

The University of Auckland’s Centre for Occupational Health and Safety Research released a media statement this week expressing concern at the proposed change of policy relating to ACC as a result of the coalition agreement with ACT. The press release headed The Future of ACC in Jeopardy goes on to say:

The Confidence and Supply Agreement with the Act announced yesterday gives the green light to the privatisation of the work account of the ACC scheme.

ACC will no longer be competing with private insurers. National had said pre-election that ACC would remain as the default provider when private insurance companies were introduced for work accidents. It was clear to observers however that keeping ACC as default provider meant that it would not
work. Firms would largely opt for the status quo.

It was inevitable therefore that post-election National would find some way to remove this impediment. “Conveniently the need to accommodate John Banks has provided this opportunity” says Associate Professor Susan St John of the ACC group. “New Zealand in grave danger of losing both what is best about the ACC scheme and our place as a world leader in accident compensation.”

The ACC Futures Coalition also released its media statement this week expressing the same concerns.

Business Fraud on the Increase

nzppaadm — Sat, 03 Dec 2011 19:19:24 +0000

White collar crime, including cyber crime is affecting more businesses in this country.
Almost half of the 93 companies responding to the 2011 PwC global economic crime survey say they have been the victims of fraud in the past year.
The findings have seen New Zealand leap up global rankings for reported fraud; from eighth place in 2009 (out of 54 countries) to fourth place in 2011 (out of 78 countries).
There’s now more reported fraud in New Zealand than Australia and the US and this country is above the global average for reported fraud among almost 4000 survey respondents internationally.
PwC forensic services partner Eric Lucas says it seems the pressures and incentives to commit fraud had increased since the 2009 survey.
Of New Zealand businesses that lost money to fraud, 65% lost less than $135,000 but two businesses lost more than $6.7 million.
Yet we are probably not taking the threat seriously.
“Businesses need to ask themselves, what happens when the person suspected of committing fraud is also the person responsible for detecting it? And when a fraud is detected, why did just 21% of NZ organisations give the fraudster nothing more than a formal wrap over the knuckles,” said Mr Lucas.
“Fraud is just a function of human nature to a degree, and we have to recognise that some people are inclined towards fraud and it may be that during hard economic times more are tempted, but I think organisations need to recognise that they are exposed to these threats and take proper steps to mitigate against them.”

Pulmonary Rehabilitation Advocated for COPD

nzppaadm — Sat, 26 Nov 2011 19:33:40 +0000

It was refreshing to read in the Dominion Post last week, a Doctor’s contribution on COPD, titled “Where There’s Smoke”. Dr Chris Kalderimis, a Wellington GP was discussing how smokers are particularly susceptible to COPD. He went on to say “Caring for a person with COPD often involves a whole team, which includes doctors, nurses and physiotherapists. Pulmonary rehabilitation makes a difference and many COPD sufferers say it has improved their lives. Education, teaching people to cope with breathlessness and exercise programmes really do make a difference.”