AMA seeks Medicare rebate for telehealth
COST containment has been put ahead of patient safety in coronavirus management as the government refuses to extend Medicare rebates for telehealth consultations to all patients.
Australian Medical Association president Dr Tony Bartone is appealing for the government to allow all GP and specialists to get a Medicare rebate when they consult patients over the phone during the coronavirus outbreak.
The government allowed a limited number of telehealth consults in its coronavirus response announced last week but these were restricted to people aged over 70, those with a chronic illness, parents with new babies and pregnant women.
The AMA says they should be available to every patient so no-one has to risk catching coronavirus by sitting in a doctor’s waiting room.
It would also protect the frontline medical workforce from the virus and allow quarantined and sick doctors to continue working as the medical workforce is overwhelmed by COVID-19.
“Broad access to telehealth means that we can engage doctors who may not be able to be involved in assessing COVID-19 patients including doctors who themselves may have to self-isolate for 14 days,” Dr Bartone said.
Dr Omar Khorshid told a meeting of the nation’s peak doctors’ group that unless the telehealth rebates were extended COVID-19 “will take out our medical workforce, our specialists, doctors and GPs, their nurses and practices out of our system”.
“The more people are sitting in waiting rooms infecting other hosts with a virus more spread we’re going to get,” he told News Corp.
“Working from home is going to be a key strategy not just for the medical profession, but for all industries.”