COVID-19
- The CPA's Statements & Resources
- The CPA's Statement on Coronavirus (COVID-19)
- The CPA's Statement for Cancelling Congress 2020
- COVID-19 Update (March 16)
- The CPA's Advocacy Statement (March 17)
- CPA Statement: Government of Canada COVID-19 Economic Response Plan (March 18)
- The CPA's President Address (March 19)
- Federal Public Service Health Care Plan Temporarily Suspends Referral Requirement for Physiotherapy
- Federal Government Emergency Response Benefits - More Details Released
- Additional Support for Small Businesses
- Canadian Emergency Response Benefit: Advocating for Physiotherapists
- Canadian Physiotherapy Association: Frequently Asked Questions (Updated: April 5)
- Equipping Canada’s Physiotherapists to Respond to COVID-19
- CPA Update: Supporting Canada’s Physiotherapists in Hospitals
- Re. Canadian Physiotherapy Professionals Ready to Deploy to Support Health Care System in Quebec During COVID-19 Crisis
- UPDATE: Quebec government expands call-out for health care professionals to include physiotherapists and physical rehabilitation specialists
- Call to Action: support for physiotherapists needed now in COVID-19 Response Plan
- CPA Update: Business Interruption Insurance Third-Party Review
- CPA Update: WCPT Launches #PPE4PT Campaign
- The CPA Announces Member Relief Package in Advance of Membership Registration and Renewal 2020
- Results of Third Party Review of Business Interruption Insurance Coverage
- The CPA Meets with MPs for Advocacy Issues
- WCPT Calls on World Health Assembly to Expand Funding for Rehabilitation
- Letter to Landlords for Small Business Owners to Use for the CECRA Program
- Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy Consultation
- Brief to the House of Commons Standing Committee on Health
- Emergency Response
- Tele-Rehabilitation
- Resource Directory
- COVID-19 Webinar Series
- The Healing Series
- Video Messages from the CPA Board
- The CPA in the News
- Support COVID-19 Research
- Clinic Reopening
July 13, 2020
The CPA participated in the recent study of the Canadian response to the outbreak of the coronavirus undertaken by the House of Commons Standing Committee on Health. We submitted this policy brief to the committee, outlining the core recommendations from the CPA on how to strengthen the health system in response to COVID-19.
In the brief, we advance recommendations to improve health infrastructure and access to physiotherapy and to support the health of Canada’s disproportionately impacted populations, including Indigenous Peoples and older adults. To meet current and future health needs identified and magnified by COVID-19, the brief calls for additional investments in:
- community and home care services to build healthy, age-friendly communities for the future;
- technology and infrastructure needed to ensure access to the internet and electronic health technologies in rural, remote, and northern communities;
- programs to support delivery of virtual services/tele-rehabilitation;
- equitable access to personal protective equipment (PPE) needed to safely deliver care in all health care settings;
- supports to offset costs associated with newly imposed infection control measures, including necessary reconfiguration of treatment spaces to ensure infection prevention measures can be established and maintained; and
- supporting Canadians in staying active safely during the ongoing pandemic.
The brief also calls on the federal government to permanently remove the requirement for a prescription for physiotherapy services under the Public Service Health Care Plan (PSHCP) – the extended health benefits program for federal employees which has more than 600,000 plan members across Canada. The need for a prescription for physiotherapy under the PSHCP was temporarily removed in March due to the pandemic and, since then, the CPA has advocated for this change to be made permanent in meetings with MPs, minister’s office policy advisors, and in letters to the President of the Treasury Board.