• Does the client possess the digital literacy, abilities or access to the necessary technology, connectivity and equipment required to participate in an audiovisual consultation?
If a provider can’ t confidently answer yes to all of the above it may be wise to reconsider the choice of telehealth as a means of conducting the consultation.
Is it appropriate to treat a client via telehealth if they’ re located outside Australia?
MIPS 4 advises that in telehealth consultations, the healthcare service that’ s provided via this method is considered to be located in the country where the client is located, not where the healthcare provider is located. Therefore, if conducting telehealth consultations for overseas clients, it’ s useful, at least from an insurance perspective, for a provider to be aware of issues such as professional indemnity( PI) insurance coverage and whether it exists in those areas where an overseas client resides. For an ATMS accredited member with PI insurance hosted by GSA, discussions between the author and GSA held on September 24 of this year indicate that their PI insurance policies will cover telehealth consults for overseas clients, but not if clients are located in Canada or the USA. In any case, PI insurance coverage should be confirmed with the PI insurance provider in writing to ensure that this can be relied upon, before conducting a telehealth consultation with a client overseas.
Telehealth benefits
There are obvious benefits for both healthcare providers and clients that can be gained here. For the provider, these include:
• reduced travel, expense and time away from home
• reduced environmental impact of transportation
• improved client reach, due to fewer location and travel barriers
• a reduction in client‘ no-shows’
• the opportunity for administrative staff to work remotely
• where an audiovisual platform is used, these consultations offer the opportunity to see the client in context, by being able to observe the client’ s living or working situation and how they interact with their environment
• improved business growth opportunities
• improved clinical workflows and increased practice efficiency
• an improvement in the costeffectiveness of service delivery
• the ability to operate from a remote or mobile location where this more effectively serves the needs of the provider
For clients, benefits include:
• improved access to healthcare, particularly for those in rural or remote locations
• reduced travel time and associated expenses
• reduced environmental impact of transportation
• reduced time away from home
• reduced waiting times, potentially supporting a faster diagnosis and treatment
• improved continuity of care due to the appropriateness of the use of telehealth for follow-up consultations and the ongoing treatment of chronic health conditions
• many clients also report improved quality of communication with providers
Are the clinical outcomes from telehealth consultations comparable to those from face-to-face consultations?
All things being equal, that is, given that telehealth consultations are delivered to the same quality standards as those applied to face-to-face consultations, the outcomes should be similar. In a recent 136 page study published by Bond University 5 authors carried out a very comprehensive review commissioned by the federal government’ s Department of Health and Aged Care, looking at the effectiveness, safety and economic impacts of the provision of primary and allied healthcare delivery via telehealth( an analysis of CAM delivery via telehealth was not included in the study). What the authors found was that telehealth and face-to-face consultations were equally effective in consultations concerning weight loss, cardiovascular disease monitoring, post-surgical rehabilitation, back pain rehabilitation, PTSD, depression, insomnia, asthma, diabetes education, acute and chronic pain, and ante- and post-natal care.
Are clients satisfied with telehealth?
Australian Bureau of Statistics( ABS) data from the 2023-2024 financial year 6 showed that in the previous 12 months:
• 80.5 % of those who’ d experienced a telehealth consultation said that they were always listened to carefully
• 83.2 % said that they were always shown respect in telehealth consultations
• 78.6 % said that they always had enough time spent with them in telehealth consultations
• people with a long-term health condition reported more positive experiences with telehealth practitioners than those without a long-term health condition( 81.7 % v 78.4 %)
• 89.2 % of those who had had a telehealth consultation said that they’ d use telehealth for a consultation again if it was offered
• 91.4 % of people aged 35-44 years would use telehealth for a consultation again if it was offered
• 83.4 % of people aged 75-84 years would use telehealth for a consultation again if it was offered
• the data also showed that only 65.3 % of those aged 15-24 years reported more positive experiences with telehealth practitioners
With some exceptions, independent research tends to validate most of this ABS data. In a 2022 US study Hays et al 7 found that client experiences with telehealth consultations were as positive as, or more positive than, consultations using a face-to-face format. A 2024 US study by Genrich et al 8 showed that
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