Changes to Medicare have the potential to greatly increase access to GP services for people in rural and remote WA, according to a health not-for-profit.
GPs consulting with patients in rural and remote areas via videoconference will be able to bill Medicare, making the use of videoconferencing more economically viable for many rural GPs, as of changes last week.
Rural Health West chief executive Tim Shackleton said the introduction of the new MBS items was an important step in the right direction for country GPs and their patients.
"For several years, Rural Health West, with our health sector partners, has been advocating for people living in communities with limited access to a GP to be able to use videoconferencing," Mr Shackleton said.
"We know there are many people in WA who have very limited access to a GP and in some cases, no access at all."
"Making it economically viable for GPs to consult with their patients via videoconference will have a positive impact on access to medical services for many people in rural and remote areas.
"We are pleased that the Commonwealth Government has taken this step, paving the way for country people to use videoconferencing in situations when they may not be able to see their family doctor face-to-face," he said.
Under the new arrangements, patients wanting to videoconference with their GP will need to meet several criteria including living in a Modified Monash 6 or 7 category location, be at least 15km by road from a GP and must have had at least three face-to-face consultations with the GP providing the video consultation within the past year.
"Broadly speaking, the catchment area covers all of the Kimberley, Pilbara, most of the Goldfields and the inland areas of the Midwest, Wheatbelt and Great Southern," Mr Shackleton said
"Many people living in country WA will meet the first two criteria, however there are concerns that the third criteria may limit the benefits of the new initiative for people who do not have a regular GP and those who attend multi-doctor practices where they may not see the same GP more than once per year.
"We understand that the third criteria has been added to preserve existing relationships between rural communities and their local GPs.
"However, patients from some of our most vulnerable communities may not have seen the same GP three times in a twelve-month period.
"We need to ensure the new GP video option is available to those people also, while preserving the importance of established clinical relationships between patients and their doctor."
