GP telehealth corporate vows to fight Medicare changes
Doctors on Demand says the restriction is about "protecting GPs, not patients".
A telehealth corporate is vowing to fight new restrictions on MBS phone and video items, claiming they are about “protecting GPs, not patients”.
From next week, Medicare items for GP telehealth consultations will be restricted to practices with an existing face-to-face relationship with the patient claiming the rebate.
The announcement on Friday (see below) has been hailed by the RACGP and AMA, who had been arguing the items were encouraging a rise in businesses marketing telehealth directly to the public with no links to patients’ usual GPs.
But telehealth providers are unhappy with the move and are arguing they have been blindsided at a time when COVID-19 cases are starting to track upwards once more.
