Changes to Australia’s COVID-19 testing regime could pile more pressure onto GPs as patients line up for pathology referrals, according to the AMA and the RACGP.  

There has been muddled messaging around testing after the national COVID-19 health management plan for 2023, which was published on Wednesday, said patients would need a referral from a doctor or nurse practitioner to access Medicare-funded PCR tests from 1 January.