Coronavirus: Extend telehealth or people will suffer, psychologists warn

Bulk-billed telehealth services must be extended or patients and medical professionals will be put at risk, psychologists say.

Health Minister Greg Hunt is considering extending bulk-billed telehealth consultations, which are due to end on September 30. Picture: James Ross

Medicare-funded telehealth services must immediately be extended or patients and medical professionals will be put at risk, Australia’s psychologists have warned.

With temporary Medicare rebated telehealth consultations due to end on September 30 after being rolled out at the start of the coronavirus pandemic, psychologists have joined with doctors in appealing to the Morrison government to make an announcement on whether they will continue.

There were 29.6 million Medicare-eligible telehealth services delivered between March 13 and September 9 to 10.4 million Australians. That resulted in $1.52bn paid in Medicare benefits.

“We want telehealth to continue … ­especially in Victoria, people are being asked to stay home and everyone is trying to comply with that,” Australian ­Association of Psychologists executive director Tegan Carrison said. “It’s for protecting psychologists as well as our community. We have psychologists and their families with health concerns. We’re basically asking them either risk yourself or your family by providing this face-to-face care or risk the mental health of your clients by not being able to provide the service they require.”

In a letter sent to Health Minister Greg Hunt at the end of last month, which has received no ­response, Ms Carrison said telehealth services eligible for Medicare rebates should ideally remain indefinitely but at the least during the pandemic.

The Australian understands Mr Hunt is considering options to extend Medicare-funded telehealth ­services beyond September and will take into account health requirements of Australians during the pandemic, and advice from the commonwealth’s Chief Medical Officer and state chief health ­officers.

He would not commit to an extension on Monday but said he “hoped and intended for it to be an abiding legacy of the crisis”.

The uncertainty is leading to psychologists and other medical professionals being unable to plan appointments beyond September, or having to cancel them.

“Some psychologists are booking people in, hoping that telehealth will continue,” Ms Carrison said. “Some people are letting their clients know ‘we can’t book you in after September 30 because we don’t know what’s going to happen’.

“The time frame is really ­impacting people. We understand the government and Health Department are really busy at the moment, but psychologists need to be able to plan and provide support and ongoing care. Two weeks’ notice isn’t enough, we need a decision and we need it today.”

Labor has also pushed for an extension of government-funded telehealth consultations after a parliamentary committee recommended Medicare telehealth items “be made a permanent feature of the Australian healthcare system”.

GPs conducted the most telehealth services, with 3.8 million of their 12.2 million consultations (31 per cent) done via telehealth in June.

Mental health practitioners, including psychologists, had the second-highest number of ­telehealth consultations that month with 372,000 of their 1.1 million appointments (34 per cent) done by telephone or video conference.