Young people in particular say they are avoiding the GP<\/a> because of out-of-pocket costs, and are less likely than older adults to have a regular GP.<\/p>\n Mark Morgan, the chair of the RACGP quality care committee, says online telehealth sites offer “great convenience” for patients seeking affordable care without long wait times.<\/p>\n Mark Morgan warns patients should not be diagnosing themselves. (Supplied)<\/p>\n But he stresses that in some cases, they’re “not as safe or as effective as good quality care, so we’re balancing convenience against quality”.<\/p>\n Professor Morgan says even when it comes to a simple medical certificate, patients aren’t experts at their own condition.<\/p>\n “A first-time strong headache, something that you’re not familiar with, could be a bleed in the brain,” he said.<\/p>\n “Somebody who’s got what they think is indigestion [with] chest pain, could be the heart.”<\/p>\n Rise in online telehealth services prompts crackdown<\/a><\/p>\n The regulator is taking aim at online telehealth services that use\u00a0website\u00a0and questionnaire methods to prescribe medication.\u00a0<\/p>\n He says the sheer volume of certificates being issued by some providers suggests there’s “no way they could be doing the thorough, detailed and careful process that’s meant to happen for people’s safety”.<\/p>\n But Centaine Snoswell, a senior research fellow at the University of Queensland who specialises in telehealth, says telehealth services can help take the strain off in-person clinics.<\/p>\n “If they’re picking up a few of those [simple] consults, those medical certificates, so that somebody else can get their chronic disease appointment, that’s a positive,” she said.<\/p>\n She says doctors who see patients via telehealth face the same regulatory requirements as those who practice in person.<\/p>\n “The risks are not completely different to somebody opening a GP practice and saying, ‘just walk in if you need.'”<\/p>\n Centaine Snoswell says telehealth services can help take some strain off in-person clinics. (Supplied)<\/p>\n However, Dr Snoswell also echoes Professor Morgan’s concerns about the wider shift away from regular practitioners, who have built up an awareness of their patients’ medical history over time.<\/p>\n She worries some people risk falling through the cracks, especially when it comes to mental health.<\/p>\n “[Some people] need an in-person visit, for somebody to say: ‘Has this happened before? Do we need to get you some more support?’<\/p>\n “Some of that can be lost in translation if somebody’s bouncing between services.”<\/p>\n Can a telehealth appointment be bulk-billed?<\/p>\n To bulk-bill a telehealth appointment on Medicare, most GPs are legally required to have an established clinical relationship with a patient.<\/p>\n This is defined as having had at least one face-to-face appointment at their practice in the past year.<\/p>\n However, some providers advertise that they bulk-bill, including Australian company Abby Health, which claims to have “100,000+ users” and boasts of being “100% bulk-billed”, while being a “fully online” service.<\/p>\n Some online telehealth services bulk-bill, despite regulations around the need for face-to-face consults.<\/p>\n Abby did not respond to triple j hack’s questions, while a spokesperson from the federal Health Department said the department takes “concern about incorrect and fraudulent claiming of the Medicare Benefits Schedule (MBS) very seriously”.<\/p>\n The spokesperson also highlighted “opportunistic billing and emerging business models” as a key departmental priority<\/a> in 2025, due to the “increasing risk” that these businesses put “revenue generation over clinically relevant patient care”.<\/p>\n Susan O’Dwyer, Chair of the Medical Board of Australia, said the regulator is also “trying hard to balance \u2026 patient demand with what we expect is good practice”.<\/p>\n “But there’s no doubt innovation is happening at such a pace that nobody can keep up with it,” she added.<\/p>\n Are instant medical certificate sites legit?<\/p>\n There have also been concerns that telehealth companies are contributing to the commercialisation of health care in Australia.<\/p>\n Loading…<\/p>\n One service, UpDoc, operates using a Netflix-style subscription model: $19.95 a month for unlimited medical certificates from a doctor.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, the Woolworths-backed Hola Health has come under fire<\/a> for offering rewards points for telehealth appointments, while the Therapeutic Goods Association (TGA) recently settled<\/a> with Wesfarmers after its subsidiary InstantScripts was issued with 45 infringement notices for the “alleged unlawful advertising of prescription-only medicines”.<\/p>\n Professor O’Dwyer from the Medical Board says she finds these operations concerning.<\/p>\n “It’s very commercial,” she said.<\/p>\n “If there’s any conflict of interest, the same rules would apply for doctors \u2026 as with any engagement with pharmaceutical industries or with medicinal cannabis [industries].”<\/p>\n Pharmacists can also provide medical certificates for sick days off work. (ABC News: Matt Roberts)<\/p>\n While Dr Snoswell understands the community concern, she believes it’s somewhat unwarranted.<\/p>\n “To think that health wasn’t a business to start with is a little bit simplistic. Health has always been a business.”<\/p>\n She says while it may seem “really foreign to us in this country”, where incentives for health companies have traditionally centred around state and federal funding, subscription-style health insurance models are common overseas.<\/p>\n “They’re just trying to keep their clientele close, which is not a bad thing, if you go back to continuity of care.<\/p>\n “If you’re getting a good service and you’re happy to pay for it, I don’t think it’s going to break the system.”<\/p>\n Is online the future of healthcare?<\/p>\n While AI chatbots and online doctor clinics may seem like a big shift to some Australians, Dr Snoswell says they’re just the latest example in a history of health disruptors.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
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