As the number of Omicron cases continue to grow, the Australian Government has made temporary changes to Telehealth in order to give GPs and specialists additional flexibility to support their patients safely. 

The new changes are said to include an additional $24 million commitment to help fund the continued supply of PPE and online support, building on the provided $34 billion since the pandemic began. 

Telehealth has been a vital support to Australians, continuing to be a fundamental part of the pandemic response by providing greater flexibility in healthcare delivery at the most critical time. 

In line with this, the Australian Government will introduce temporary specialist inpatient telehealth MBS items, initial and complex specialist telephone consultation items, and longer telephone consultations for GPs until 30 June 2022.  

They will also enable specialist medical practitioners to provide telehealth consultations to hospital in-patients as a temporary measure for when their personal doctor cannot attend the hospital due to COVID-19 restrictions. 

In recognition of the high infection rate and the need to provide healthcare support, these added services will be made available nationally rather than just Commonwealth-declared hotspots. 

These added measures will help GPs and specialists manage patients with mild symptoms, relieving pressure on Australia’s hospital system so that staff can sustain their incredible efforts through the current Omicron surge. 

These short-term telehealth measures will also help to minimise risks for patients who would otherwise have to travel for a face-to-face consultation.  They will also benefit people who are immunocompromised, under the care of a psychiatrist, living with cancer or pregnant. 

The Australian Government will also expand the MBS item for GPs caring for COVID positive patients in the community through face-to-face consultations to include those that have tested positive through a rapid antigen test.  

This aligns with National Cabinet’s decision that RAT tests no longer need to be confirmed by PCR. 

To support GPs and others providing face to face care for COVID-positive patients, the Australian Government is providing comprehensive packages of personal protective equipment (PPE) to GPs, Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Services and GP Respiratory Clinics. 

For the next three months, over 20 million units of PPE will be provided for primary care. This includes nine million p2/n95 masks for GPs and three million for pharmacists with high prioritisation for those in rural, regional and remote areas. 

The Australian Government has also worked with Healthdirect to develop a national assessment, triage and notification infrastructure to connect people who test positive with the appropriate level of care and advice based on guidelines developed by the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners.  

This initiative is expected to commence in Queensland on 17 January 2022, with other states to follow. 

These measures join the $180 million Living with COVID package for primary care announced last year, which extends the reach and role of GP Respiratory Clinics. 

Throughout the pandemic, the Australian Government has worked closely with state and territory governments and organisations, listening to our frontline workers and making changes to help with their patients. 

All these changes support GPs and specialist medical practitioners to manage the significant increase in Australians with mild to moderate symptoms of COVID-19. 

Source: Department of Health Media Release

Eliza Sayon

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Eliza is a content producer and editor at Public Spectrum. She is an experienced writer on topics related to the government and to the public, as well as stories that uplift and improve the community.

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