A GP waiting room in July is not where anyone over 65 wants to sit, surrounded by this season’s flu, RSV and COVID while waiting for a script renewal. The good news: Medicare-funded telehealth is now a permanent part of Australian healthcare, and used well, it can handle a surprising share of routine care from your own living room. Here’s a practical guide.
What Telehealth Covers Now
Telehealth consultations, by video or phone, attract Medicare rebates just like face-to-face visits, with the same clinical standards. They suit a wide range of routine care: repeat prescriptions sent straight to your phone or pharmacy, discussing test results, medication adjustments, chronic condition check-ins for blood pressure, diabetes or heart health, mental health consultations, and referrals.
Residents of aged care facilities are eligible for telehealth Australia-wide, which has quietly become one of the most valuable applications, connecting residents with GPs and specialists without an ambulance transfer for a routine review.
“Video services are preferred for patients who cannot attend a face to face consultation,” Services Australia advises.
Video is preferred over phone where possible because the doctor can actually see you, your colour, your breathing, how you’re moving, though phone items exist and remain the practical choice for many older patients.
The Eligibility Rule Worth Knowing
The main rule catches some people out: for most GP telehealth items, you need an established relationship with the practice, meaning at least one face-to-face visit there in the previous 12 months, or registration with the practice through MyMedicare.
That makes MyMedicare registration a genuinely useful step for older Australians. Registering with your regular practice (free, through your Medicare account or at the clinic) unlocks fuller telehealth access, including some longer phone consultations. If you haven’t registered, it’s a five-minute job worth doing before you need it. Details are on the MyMedicare page.
What Telehealth Can’t Do
Honesty matters here: telehealth is a complement, not a replacement. A doctor can’t listen to your chest, feel your abdomen or examine your ears over video, so new or worsening symptoms that need hands-on assessment still mean an in-person visit, and your GP will tell you when that’s the case. Blood tests and vaccinations remain in-person too, though the referral can be done remotely.
The best pattern for most older patients is a mix: face-to-face for anything new or physical, telehealth for the routine follow-ups, results and scripts that make up much of the GP calendar, and that mix also keeps your 12-month eligibility ticking over naturally.
Making Appointments Work Well
A few small habits transform the experience. Book video where you can manage it, and do a thirty-second practice run with the link before the appointment time. Have your medication list, recent readings (blood pressure, blood sugar) and a written list of questions beside you. Sit somewhere quiet with good light on your face. And if technology is the barrier rather than the preference, the free Be Connected program runs exactly this kind of skill-building for older Australians.
For families supporting an older parent, sitting in on the first video appointment to handle the technology is a gift that pays off all winter.
The Bigger Picture
Telehealth arrived as an emergency measure and stayed because it works, particularly for the people for whom travel, mobility and waiting-room exposure carry the highest cost. This winter, with respiratory viruses circulating and a free RSV vaccine now available for over-75s, combining telehealth for the routine with well-timed in-person care is simply smart healthcare. One phone call to your regular practice asking “do you offer telehealth, and am I set up for it?” is the place to start.
Epik Wire covers health, ageing and technology in plain language for older Australians and their families. Subscribe to our newsletter to stay informed.
