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.  

The 16-page plan said the change aimed to prioritise PCR testing for “high-risk populations who are at risk of severe COVID-19”, including older people, Indigenous people and people with a disability, while encouraging patients at lower risk of severe disease to get a rapid antigen test (RAT).  

But then the Department of Health went on to say that patients would not need a referral to attend a public clinic after all, and GP respiratory clinics would not require a referral either.