GP Telehealth

These new items are bulk billed, meaning patients will not have an out of pocket cost for these services. You will need to assign the Medicare benefit you would receive to your treating health professional.

When a bulk billed service is being provided, you need to agree that your Medicare rebate being paid directly to your healthcare provider. This is known as ‘assignment of benefit’.

A patient assigns their right to a Medicare benefit by signing a completed assignment of benefit form, which is available here.

For these temporary items only, it is acceptable for your treating health professional to document your agreement to assign your benefit in their clinical notes during the consultation and a form is not required.

Yes, the medical practitioner can mail or email a prescription to you or your pharmacist.

Yes. There is no difference between a video and face-to-face consultation in terms of ordering pathology and diagnostic imaging tests. In practice, the arrangements for these tests could vary between email, fax, or mail.

Yes. If a video consultation is suggested and you do not have the necessary technology, you may request to have the service by telephone. Your health professional may also prefer a face to face consultation.

Patients must be located in Australia, eligible for Medicare and not be an admitted patient to a hospital.

Yes. Depending on your isolation requirements, you may have support from a friend or family member. This should be discussed with your treating health professional.

The same privacy requirements that apply to face to face consultations will apply to video consultation/telephone consultations. Patients should discuss any concerns with their treating health professional.

If a service is bulk billed, the healthcare provider accepts the Medicare rebate as full payment; you cannot be charged any other costs such as booking, administration or record keeping fees.

No, it is the same service; once you have reconnected, you should continue the consultation as normal.

Yes. You can attend multiple consultations on the same day and by the same medical practitioner, provided the subsequent attendances are not a continuation of the initial or earlier attendances.

If you have not received a satisfactory health service, you can:

• View information online on the medical board of Australia website about making a complaint: www.medicalboard.gov.au, or
• Submit a health provider tip off on the Department of health website: www1.health.gov.au/internet/main/publishing.nsf/Content/health-provider-tip-off

COVID-19 National Health Plan resources for the public, health professionals and industry are available from the Australian Government Department of Health website.