Melbourne, Australia
Independent · Not a clinic
An independent Australian journal of digital health
Digital DoctorExplainers on telehealth, records, medicines and the systems between Australian patients and their clinicians.
The consulting room without walls
Medicare rules, video versus phone, consumer checklists and the moments when a camera is the wrong instrument.
A usual GP is still the safest default. If you use a marketplace app, check AHPRA registration, fees, privacy, scripts and what happens after the call. This checklist is for patients and practice managers who are tired of slogans.
A good GP will cancel a video slot when the story needs hands, light or an urgent door. This piece covers chest pain, abdominal pain, unwell children, skin lesions, intimate exams and new neurological symptoms, and how to hear a clinical no.
Phone is faster and more familiar. Video shows a face, a room and sometimes a rash. This guide sets out the clinical limits of audio-only care, when a camera helps, and why bandwidth and privacy still decide the modality in Australian homes.
Medicare generally wants a recent in-person GP visit before it rebates most GP telehealth. This piece sets out what the relationship requirement actually is, the common exceptions, and how new patients and marketplace apps run into it.
Temporary COVID telehealth items became a standing part of Medicare from 1 January 2022. This explainer covers what patients can still get by phone or video, how GP, specialist and allied health rules differ, and why bulk-billing is still a practice decision.