Use of General Practitioner Telehealth Services During the COVID-19 Pandemic in Regional Victoria, Australia: Retrospective Analysis.

ABSTRACT:

Background

In March 2020, the Australian Government expanded general practitioner (GP) telehealth services in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Objective

This study sought to assess use patterns of GP telehealth services in response to changing circumstances (before and during the COVID-19 pandemic and with or without a lockdown) in regional Victoria, Australia.

Methods

We conducted a secondary analysis of monthly Medicare claims data from July 2019 to June 2021 from 140 regional GP practices in Western Victoria. The longitudinal patterns of proportion of GP telehealth consultations stratified by type of consultation (ie, videoconference vs telephone) and by geographical, consumer, and consultation characteristics were analyzed.

Results

Telehealth comprised 25

SUBMITTER: Savira F 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9907565 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature