11 May 2022

In the lead up to the Federal Election, the Royal Australasian College of Physicians (RACP) is calling for a ‘Connecting Communities to Digital Healthcare’ program to keep people in regional and rural areas connected to healthcare when face-to-face consultations aren’t easily accessible.

The RACP says that while face-to-face consultations are often the first preference, when these are not accessible, many patients are at risk of losing access to healthcare altogether.

This can add to existing inequities in access to healthcare experienced by particular populations. Access to healthcare is already limited in many regional and rural communities by the need to travel long distances and a lack of available local medical professionals. RACP President Professor John Wilson says, “We need to make sure people in the regions can get the specialist care they need.

“The COVID-19 pandemic prompted a new way of delivering specialist care through telehealth. This has given people in regional and rural areas and beyond greater flexibility in accessing specialists, where travel may be an obstacle.

“However, some simply don’t have access to or knowledge of videoconferencing technology. Having a government program that gives them the technology, tools and skills is crucial to ensuring regional communities can continue to access healthcare.

“We ask that both parties commit to funding a ‘Connecting Communities to Digital Healthcare’ program of comprehensive videoconferencing packages to improve the take up of telehealth for priority populations.”

Currently, specialist phone consultations are preferred by many patients or necessitated by patient-specific circumstances such as less advanced technical knowledge, lack of quality internet and data services, geographical barriers, and inability to access in-person care. But MBS items for some specialist phone consultations are set to end on June 30 – with no commitment from the Government to extend this option.

“Having a choice between quality telehealth and face-to-face consultations widens the breadth of healthcare accessibility to those needing specialist care.

“If we reduce rather than grow telehealth options, we’ll be wasting some very important lessons from the pandemic.”

“We’re also calling on the Government to increase regional Specialist Training Positions, with no shortage of interest in these positions from our trainees. At the same time, we also need to remove barriers to digital healthcare." Professor Wilson says.

The call to introduce a video technology program to improve access to telehealth is part of
the RACP’s 2022 Federal Election Statement.

The RACP's full election statement can be read here: https://www.racp.edu.au/docs/default-source/policy-and-adv/election-statement/2022-racp-federal-election-statement.pdf?sfvrsn=1f1ecb1a_6

Authorised by Peter McIntyre, CEO, The Royal Australasian College of Physicians, 145 Macquarie Street, Sydney, NSW, 2000