GPs will be at the forefront of managing the ongoing impact of COVID-19 for at least another eight months as restrictions ease and chronic disease patients return for overdue care, says a leading GP and health informatics expert.

Adjunct Associate Professor Christopher Pearce, from the department of general practice at Monash University in Melbourne, issued his warning on the back of four reports examining the pandemic’s long-term affects on general practice.

The predictions come from a survey of more than 1000 general practices across NSW and Victoria by e-health company Outcome Health as part of an initiative by five primary health networks across eastern Australia. 

Professor Pearce, who led the research, warned GPs would see a second wave of coronavirus patients in June and July, coming at the same time as the flu season.