Rise of ‘corporate telehealth’ a threat to patient care, warns RACGP president
Dr Harry Nespolon says he fears for a 'new Edelsten' era unless MBS rules are tightened up
The RACGP wants doctors banned from the new telehealth items unless their practice is open at least four hours a day for face-to-face consults.
The items have already been claimed more than 3.7 million times since their introduction last month.
But there is growing concern over the rise of telehealth corporates cashing in on Medicare-funded phone and video consults, while leaving the “hard patients” to regular GPs.
“The reality is you cannot safely have every consultation over the phone or via video software and provide adequate care to your patients,” said RACGP president Dr Harry Nespolon.
