How Emily took advantage of one of the few ‘good things’ to come out of COVID
When Emily West moved to northern NSW eight years ago, medical receptionists were regularly bamboozled when she tried to book a video appointment with her specialists back in Sydney.
But better access to telehealth options since the COVID-19 pandemic has been a “lifesaver” for the 36-year-old, who has multiple sclerosis and has been immunosuppressed since undergoing a stem cell transplant and chemotherapy last year.
Emily West, 36, says telehealth appointments have been a ‘game changer’ for her and her son Freddie Conly, who turns five on Friday. Credit: Danielle Smith
“I was locked in my home for a little while, [so] the ability to have telehealth appointments not only for me but my son, and my partner, has been incredible,” she said. “It’s been a game changer, one of the good things to come out of the pandemic, I think.”
New analysis released on Wednesday shows telehealth accounted for one in every 10 public specialist appointments and one in every five GP appointments in NSW, less than during the height of the pandemic but a massive increase on the one per cent of Medicare-subsidised appointments conducted over phone or video call in 2019.
In a survey of more than 2000 patients released alongside the Medicare analysis, patients who frequently used telehealth were more likely to rate their overall care highly and use it again if given the choice.
Bureau of Health Information chief executive Diane Watson said virtual care was now being used “as an alternative to, rather than as an addition to” in-person appointments.
Over the last few years, telehealth has become readily available.
West, who lives in Pottsville near the Queensland border, said the technology was particularly helpful for patients such as herself whose regular visits to the doctor wouldn’t be possible face-to-face.
“In northern NSW, medical specialists don’t exist ... to go and see a GP or a specialist, you’re looking at a one-hour round trip at least,” she said. “With telehealth, you can just access them at the click of a button.”
Patients were also more likely to rate their experience highly if they had previously seen their doctor face-to-face.
Dr Vicki Mattiazzo, a GP based in Jindabyne and the NSW rural chair with the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners, said the pandemic had shown “rightly conservative” doctors that telehealth was a safe and convenient option for some patients, but there were some aspects of a face-to-face appointment that it can’t replicate.
“Clearly if there is something physical going on ... you need to look at the way the person is walking, feel their joints, look at how things are working, so face to face is going to be safer and better,” she said. “And also for mental health issues ... we need to develop that rapport, all those little things you do to establish a relationship with a patient.”
Mattiazzo said restrictions such as requiring written rather than verbal consent from virtual patients placed an unfair burden on GPs, and they were working with the Commonwealth to reduce red tape while reining in the burgeoning online prescription industry which has concerned regulators.
“We do need to be very careful about what’s going on in that space, without over-bureaucratising the services that are working well,” she said.
NSW Health Minister Ryan Park said virtual care was becoming a “more natural part of healthcare” and would play a role in relieving pressure off the state’s busy emergency departments.
Health Minister Ryan Park says telehealth services reduce the load on hospital emergency departments.Credit: Edwina Pickles
“Virtual care means that people with non-life threatening conditions don’t need to wait in an emergency department,” he said.
Four of 16 urgent care clinics recently set up in NSW provide telehealth services, and delivered 24,000 appointments between July 2023 and April this year.
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