Amid so many questions and concerns about Australia’s response to the novel coronavirus, there is some good news: telehealth can help. This week the Australian Government started exploring ways to use telehealth during the COVID-19 outbreak.
Pulse IT magazine reports that the Federal Health Department is consulting with medical groups about developing a specific MBS item number for patients with COVID-19 symptoms.
We welcome this news: telehealth can slow transmission of the disease by keeping at risk people out of waiting rooms. It is therefore a critical component of the response from both the government and clinical community.
Authors of the article include Dr Centaine Snoswell, A/Prof Ateev Mehrotra, Dr Emma Thomas, Dr K-lynn Smith, Dr Helen Haydon, A/Prof Liam Caffery and Prof Anthony Smith.
