AMA and RACGP call for urgent reinstatement of COVID-19 telehealth items
The Australian Medical Association and Royal Australian College of General Practitioners have asked federal Health Minister Mark Butler to meet with them to discuss the reinstatement of COVID-19 telehealth items cancelled on 1 July.
In letters to the Minister, the AMA and RACGP urged the Government to immediately reverse the decision to let the telehealth items lapse, saying the telephone is a safe and effective means of delivering essential care to all Australians, especially during the worsening pandemic.
“These changes undermine the ability of patients to access their doctors, and in particular for GPs to prescribe antivirals for COVID-positive patients and will lead to costs elsewhere in the health system, including in overstretched hospitals,” AMA President, Dr Omar Khorshid said.
“This decision means telephone access to doctors will be significantly limited, hitting vulnerable patients hardest, including those who do not have access to high bandwidth internet and those who can’t operate the necessary IT systems.”
Dr Khorshid said the item for telephone consults longer that 20 minutes with a GP - a key part of the Government’s ‘Living with Covid’ strategy - was critical and must be restored.
“Prescribing antivirals is time consuming, requiring a GP to consider complex eligibility requirements, contraindications and drug interactions and then arrange for patients to obtain the medication while isolating. Even simple cases take thirty minutes to an hour to properly complete.”
You can read our joint AMA and RACGP media release here.
