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From tomorrow, some Australians will be able to consult their doctor or other health professional with a rather than in person, in a move designed to limit the spread of the coronavirus among vulnerable people.
This measure will also help reduce the risk of transmission to .
Yesterday’s of these new telehealth measures comes as the World Health Organisation has of the coronavirus COVID-19 epidemic to a pandemic.
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Who’s eligible?
People in home isolation or quarantine as a result of the coronavirus, and those at high risk of complications if exposed to it, will be eligible for bulk-billed telehealth consultations with doctors, nurses and mental health professionals.
Eligible vulnerable groups :
- people aged over 70
- Indigenous people aged over 50
- people with chronic health conditions or whose immune system is compromised
- parents with new babies
- pregnant women.
Existing in Australia normally refer to a consultation by videoconference, and don’t specify a particular software or platform.
However, says these new telehealth services could be conducted by phone, or video, giving FaceTime or Skype as examples.
People in isolation or quarantine for COVID-19 will need to meet and can videocall any eligible health provider.
However, those in vulnerable groups with a non-coronavirus matter can only videocall a health-care provider they have seen in person during the previous 12 months.
This may be a problem for people who do not have a regular health-care provider, or whose regular health-care provider is either ill-equipped or unwilling to provide consults via telehealth.
What are people eligible for and for how long?
Eligible people can not only access medical treatment by telehealth, they can also access .
The government that home isolation, quarantine periods and/or the spread of COVID-19 can be stressful and could lead to mental health problems without support.
have also recognised . The this week on how to support the mental health of both patients and providers.
These newly announced telehealth measures are temporary, costing over an initial period of six months. We don’t know whether the funding or time frame will be sufficient.
Telehealth in emergencies isn’t new
Telehealth has been used in Australia and overseas for decades. And in research to be published soon in the we discuss how there’s good evidence it’s effective, especially in disaster situations.
For instance, telehealth was used after in 2012, in 2011, and during the in 2014.
In our forthcoming research paper we also discuss issues associated with implementing telehealth.
Telehealth can be very useful for a broad range of clinical services, but it can’t replace all in-person consultations. Some assessments, and all procedures, will still need to conducted in person.
Patients also need access to a device capable of videoconferencing (for example, a phone, computer, or tablet), as well as a reliable internet connection.
About has internet access at home. So there are people from home.
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Effective uptake of telehealth also relies on clinicians changing the way they interact and communicate with patients, for some.
So we need to provide adequate to emerging and current health-care workers. We also need to ensure the general public is aware of telehealth and understand how to access it.
What might happen in the future?
The uptake of telehealth in Australia has been somewhat so far.
However, the use of telehealth during the coronavirus pandemic might change this. People may become more aware of telehealth and accept it.
If it was used routinely in every health service, it would improve access to health care particularly in rural and remote areas, reducing the need for extensive travel.
Routine use would also mean our response to future pandemics and disasters would be much more timely and effective.
Researchers from our team at the University of Queensland’s , and the contributed to research mentioned in this article.
, Research Fellow Health Economics, and , Professor, Director of the Centre for Online Health,
This article is republished from under a Creative Commons license. Read the .
