MBS Review wants to keep the first video telehealth consultation with specialists
A review committee tasked with advising the Australian government on publicly funded services included in the Medicare Benefits Schedule has released its official recommendations on the implementation of subsidized telehealth services in the country.
This is because many COVID-19 era telehealth items, including reviews for COVID-19 antiviral medications over the phone, will expire next month, July.
FINDINGS
A key recommendation from the MBS Review Advisory Committee (MRAC) is to reintroduce GP telephone services with a physician of record and provide the opportunity to receive subsequent telephone consultations for continued care. Telephone consultations are particularly suitable for the treatment of chronic diseases by general practitioners, the report says.
However, this does not apply to reviews of antiviral medications against COVID-19 over the telephone. The Royal Australian College of General Practitioners Reportedly raised this issue with the Ministry of Health. Stating that COVID-19 infections are still spreading in communities, he urged that such telehealth tools “must be maintained for the foreseeable future.”
Another recommendation is to maintain telehealth video items that refer to initial consultations with specialists who are not general practitioners.
The KRAC initially proposed in its draft report last year to only make non-GP-specific MBS items available face-to-face, which provoked opposition from stakeholders such as the Australian Medical Association. “For a number of specialties, an initial telehealth consultation can provide the opportunity to arrange necessary diagnostic tests – providing the basis for a much more informed follow-up consultation – often face-to-face,” the AMA previously said in its commentary. to the draft report.
The review committee also recommends that GP support for non-GP specialist consultations be reintroduced and extended to nurse specialists. It also wants to see GP patient support extended to nurses, paramedics and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health practitioners.
Other notable recommendations include ending the MBS telehealth articles for nicotine cessation implemented in early 2024 and creating permanent telehealth articles for blood-borne viruses and sexual and reproductive health.
THE BIG TREND
Before 2020, telehealth was mainly used for non-GP specialist consultations with patients living outside major cities. During the pandemic, temporary MBS telehealth items were introduced to ensure access to healthcare amid lockdowns and mandatory social distancing. Most of these items, which are backed by A$106 million ($76 million) in funding, are now definitively.
The latest KRAC report notes that telehealth is still largely provided by GPs and makes up a fifth of MBS articles. Interestingly, they make the least use of video telecare, accounting for 5% of consultations last year. Allied health specialists and non-GP specialists reportedly have the highest adoption of video telehealth, at 75% and 48% of all telehealth consultations, respectively.