Telehealth uptake in general practice as a result of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic
Centaine L. Snoswell
A B , Liam J. Caffery A , Helen M. Haydon A , Emma E. Thomas A and Anthony C. Smith A
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations
A Centre for Online Health, The University of Queensland, Ground floor, Building 33, Princess Alexandra Hospital, Cornwall Street, Woolloongabba, Qld 4102, Australia. Email: l.caffery@uq.edu.au; h.haydon@uq.edu.au; e.thomas2@uq.edu.au; asmith@uq.edu.au
B Corresponding author. Email: c.snoswell@uq.edu.au
Australian Health Review 44(5) 737-740 https://doi.org/10.1071/AH20183
Submitted: 21 July 2020 Accepted: 12 August 2020 Published: 28 August 2020
Journal Compilation © AHHA 2020 Open Access CC BY
Abstract
In March 2020, the Australian Government added new temporary telehealth services to the Medicare Benefits Schedule (MBS) to reduce the risk of patient–patient and patient–clinician transmission of the 2019 coronavirus (COVID-19). Here, the MBS statistics for general practitioner activity and the associated costs are described; a small increase in both activity and costs for the new MBS telehealth items were observed. The opportunities for future research and policy implications are also discussed.
Additional keywords: primary care, telephone consultations, video consultations.
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