A top health bureaucrat has told telehealth corporates their future is on trial after he had “a four-question chatbot-type exchange” with a GP who then billed a level C.

Shane Solomon is chair of the Independent Hospital Pricing Authority, which advises the Federal Government on funding for public hospitals.

But last week he took to social media about his experience with GP telehealth, having booked a consult via Medinet — an app part-owned by the founder of MyHealth Medical Centres — which he said was no different to using a “vending machine”.

He said the consultation was conducted entirely via instant messages, culminating in a script being sent to him electronically.