Tech unsavvy older patients are falling through the cracks, as some practices abandon face-to-face consults and move to online-only bookings, the AMA is warning.

AMA SA President Dr Chris Moy says he’s received “distressing” complaints about practices, especially from older patients, who are having more difficulty adjusting than younger ones.

According to Dr Moy, a patient with severe disabilities and no internet walked three kilometres to their usual practice, after leaving several unanswered messages, only to find it was boarded up.

“(The practice) went completely to telehealth, they went completely to an online booking system. They said they would take phone calls, but they only had an answering service.”