Doctors call on govt to restore Medicare items for phone-only telehealth consults

The cuts have hit vulnerable patients the hardest, says RACP president Dr Jacqueline Small.
Dr Jacqueline Small. Photo: Twitter.

Doctors want dozens of phone-based Medicare items reinstated in next month’s federal budget, saying “short-sighted” cuts have harmed vulnerable patients.

In July last year, physicians lost access to more than 70 MBS items that had been introduced in response to COVID-19.