Doctors are calling for telehealth services to be reinstated in the federal budget, saying rural patients, vulnerable people and those living with disabilities cannot access the care they deserve.
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The federal government removed several telehealth items from the Medicare Benefits Schedule last year, including long phone consultations for medical specialists treating patients who have complex chronic conditions.
The Royal Australasian College of Physicians said the cuts were deepening disadvantage for some patients and called for the Medicare items to be reinstated in the May budget.
"It is vitally important that we provide the health care that patients in rural and regional areas need," the college's president Jacqueline Small told AAP.
"Increasingly we're realising that it needs to be more flexible, responsive, timely and takes into consideration the other demands on patients in rural areas, like their family needs or work.
"To see a medical specialist might require a whole day or even overnight travel, but that could be delivered by alternative means."
Dr Small said while short phone consultations and video calls remained on the schedule, the demands of video technology did not suit everyone.
"People may struggle using video telehealth, that might be the elderly, people with a disability, or people with other complexities,'' she said.
"The challenge is by cutting these item numbers, we cut off patients who need access to medical specialists."
An analysis by Deakin University health researchers found there was little evidence that video calls were superior to telephone consultations, and the removal of long phone call services potentially disadvantaged people with higher medical needs.
Health consumer advocate Lyn Whiteway, who lives with rheumatoid arthritis and respiratory conditions, said long phone consultations were crucial to her recovery after surgery that damaged her diaphragm.
"I was frightened. I couldn't even walk up three stairs without being out of breath, so I was getting really, really concerned," Ms Whiteway said.
"Having my respiratory physician on the other end of the phone was a lifeline for me at times."
Australian Associated Press
