Coronavirus: Doctors push to keep telehealth permanent

Doctors have welcomed the government’s move to extend Medicare-subsidised telehealth for another six months.

A lady measures her blood pressure during a telehealth check up with her doctor. Picture: iStock

Doctors have welcomed the government’s move to extend Medicare-subsidised telehealth for another six months under a $2bn COVID-19 health package, but are calling for urgent planning to make the measure permanent.

The Australian Medical Association said the next six months should be used to plan how to “finalise the future of telehealth in Australia”, with the measure having become so popular that it would be inconceivable to wind back the remote provision of medicine.

Between March and September 15, the telehealth program provided more than 30 million services to more than 10 million patients, with $1.55bn paid out in health benefits.

The telehealth extension will run until March 31 and allows Medicare-billed phone or video consultations with GPs, nurses, midwives and allied and mental health professionals.

The measure is part of a wider COVID-19 federal government health package that includes the purchase of extra personal protective equipment for the National Medical Stockpile, the funding of 148 GP-led respiratory clinics, free COVID-19 pathology tests and extra funding for hospitals.

As part of the telehealth extension, doctors will no longer be ­required to bulk-bill telehealth services and can apply their usual fee schedule from the start of ­October. This was welcomed by the AMA and the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners, who hold concerns about the viability of some GP practices that have seen a drop-off in patients.

“The AMA remains concerned about the viability of practices in lockdown situations and has urged the government to step in with more support if needed to help them maintain services to ­patients,” AMA president Omar Khorshid said.

Acting RACGP president Ayman Shenouda said Medicare-subsidised universal telehealth had proved a lifeline for people in rural and remote areas, those who may have difficulty leaving home because of disability, and people with mental health issues.

“We can’t return to the situation where patients are forced to physically sit in front of their GP before they can get a Medicare subsidy,” he said.