Top 5 steps to prescribing powerchairs

How can you get a prescription for a powerchair?

Your mobility might be changing as your body, your illness or disability changes. Or you might be struggling to meet your own seating goals. There are a range of different reasons for prescribing a powerchair.

It’s important to know what your health team looks for when assessing you for your powerchair, so let’s take a look at the top 5 things therapists and health professionals consider when they believe a powerchair might be the perfect solution.

Prescribing powerchairs:

1. Competing medical conditions

The first consideration is your level of injury or disability. Your health team will always look at your associated upper body mobility and your head control. Associated issues such as arthritis, acquired brain injury, shoulder and upper limb injuries can affect your health team’s opinion of whether a powerchair is right for you.

Control your destination with a range of different joysticks.

2. Can you drive a joystick?

It might sound straightforward, but being able to control a joystick is one of the primary assessments your health team will make! They’ll consider your ability to use the arm supports. If you can’t use a standard joystick – can you control the chair with a chin or head controller?

Magic Mobility has the solution by providing a wide range of controllers, designed just for your needs.

3. Weight shifting

If you find that you can’t shift your weight, and you’re suffering from pressure injuries, your health care team will closely consider a powerchair for you that assists. Magic Mobility offers such seating systems, including our Maximum Postural Support or Rehab Backrests, as well as the Power Tilt, which can help relieve pressure and keep you comfortable for longer.

Power legrests for improved comfort.

4. Moving those joints

Surgery or orthopaedic issues might restrict your joint movements. Your health team will look at whether you’re compromised in being able to fully make use of things such as leg elevation and backrest reclines in your powerchair.

Magic Mobility offers two types of power legrests. Centre mounted powered elevating and powered swing-away.

The powered legrests assist with pressure relief and circulation issues and combined with the power recline function, provide a great lie-down function for increased comfort.

5. Handling the power of a powerchair

It’s a big change, moving from a manual chair to a powerchair. Your health team will consider your circumstances very closely – right through to reviewing your home situation and your relationship with your carers – before prescribing you a powerchair. For example, will you be able to handle the chair safely? Will you be able to drive it well? Your health team wants to make sure you’ve got all the skills necessary to harness the power.

These are some of the many considerations that are taken into account – and it’s by no means an exhaustive list! We know that everyone’s needs are different.

Magic Mobility offers a range of medical mobility assistance aids and systems. Your health team will have very specific requirements, and Magic is keen to work with your team to find the best solution – tailored just for you.

To find out how we can assist you, contact our team here.