The number of doctors providing telehealth services has ballooned since the pandemic, but another transformation has also been quietly underway — the virtual care provided by nurses.

From triaging millions of calls for government services, such as Healthdirect, to providing medication reminders and organising referrals for aged care residents, nurses have embraced telehealth.

But a leading nurse expert says their contribution has yet to be quantified.

“At present, we simply do not have any precise data. There is very limited workforce reporting specific to telehealth nursing,” says Judith Smith, chair of the Telehealth Nursing and Midwifery Consortium.