Dr Mukesh Haikerwal says patients are doing runners to avoid paying for telehealth consults, leaving him thousands of dollars out of pocket.  

The former AMA president said GPs at his Melbourne practice would ask patients to remain on the line after a consultation so they could be redirected to receptionist staff, who would arrange payments over the phone or internet link.

But many patients were hanging up before reception staff could do their job.

“We went through a stage when the outstanding debt was pretty huge, especially for video and telehealth consultations,” he said.