Telehealth for GPs: how it works, MBS rules and best practice

Telehealth is now a permanent, funded part of Australian general practice. For most GPs the question is no longer whether to offer it, but how to do it well — which consults suit video or phone, how the Medicare rules actually work, and how to keep the technology from eating the first five minutes of the appointment.

Here’s a practical run-through for GPs.

How telehealth fits into general practice

Telehealth became an ongoing part of Medicare in 2022, after the temporary pandemic arrangements were made permanent (Department of Health, Disability and Ageing). In day-to-day practice it works best as a complement to face-to-face care, not a replacement: you use it for the presentations where a hands-on examination isn’t essential, and you convert to an in-person visit when it is.

Good candidates include results and follow-ups, medication reviews, mental health consults, stable chronic disease management, script and referral requests, and simple acute issues you can assess adequately by history and what you can see on camera. The RACGP is clear that telehealth should be delivered to the same standard of care as an in-person consultation, and only when it is clinically appropriate (RACGP).

Video, phone and what the MBS expects

Medicare treats video and phone as separate items, even for the same type of consultation, and video is treated as the default, higher-fidelity mode. Phone is available as an alternative but carries more restrictions. Getting the modality right matters, because claiming a video item for a call that was actually by phone (or the reverse) is one of the most common telehealth billing errors.

GP telehealth attendances broadly mirror the standard surgery consultation levels, graded by time and complexity. If you want the detail on how the items are structured — provider type, video versus phone, and consultation level — see telehealth MBS item numbers. Because item numbers, fees and conditions change with each MBS update, treat any summary (including this one) as orientation and always check the current MBS and Services Australia guidance before you claim.

The practical rule: video is the default, phone is the fallback, and the item must match how the consult actually happened. Build the modality check into your billing habit rather than relying on memory.

The eligibility rules that trip GPs up

Choosing the right item is only half the job — the service also has to meet the MBS eligibility rules. Three points catch GPs out most often.

The existing-relationship requirement. For most GP telehealth, the patient must generally have been seen face-to-face by you, or another GP at your practice, in the previous 12 months (Services Australia). This is the single biggest determinant of whether a GP telehealth claim is valid. We cover it in depth in the telehealth 12-month rule.

The exemptions. There are defined groups the 12-month rule doesn’t apply to — for example children under 12 months, people experiencing homelessness, certain after-hours and sexual and reproductive health services, and patients affected by a natural disaster, among others. The list changes over time, so confirm the current version rather than working from memory.

Longer phone items and MyMedicare. Shorter phone consultations are widely available, but the longer phone items are generally limited to patients registered with your practice through MyMedicare. Two similar-length phone calls can attract different items purely because one patient is registered and the other isn’t.

For the patient-facing view of how this feeds into cost and bulk billing, Services Australia’s telehealth services for your patients page is a useful reference to point people to.

Running a good GP telehealth consult

The clinical standards don’t change on video; the way you reach them does. A few habits make the difference:

• Confirm identity and location. Check you’re speaking with the right person, ask where they are, and get a call-back number in case the connection drops. Knowing the patient’s location matters if you need to direct them to local emergency care.
• Get and document consent to proceed by telehealth, and note who else is present at either end.
• Use the camera as a clinical tool. Ask the patient to show you the rash, the swelling, the wound, or the way they move — not just to talk about it.
• Safety-net explicitly. Tell the patient what to watch for, what to do if things worsen, and when to seek in-person or emergency care. Keep a low threshold for converting to a face-to-face review.
• Document the telehealth specifics — that the consult was by video or phone, that consent was obtained, who was present, and any limitations of the remote assessment.

Our full guide to running a great telehealth consultation goes deeper on webside manner, safety-netting and documentation.

Choosing a platform that removes friction

The most common telehealth failure in general practice isn’t clinical — it’s the patient who can’t get the video working. Every minute spent talking someone through an app install or a login is a minute lost from the consult, and it’s the part of telehealth patients complain about most.

That’s the specific problem MedCall is built to solve. It’s made for Australian clinicians, and the patient joins a 1:1 video call by tapping a texted link — no app, no account, no download. Calls are Australian-hosted and never recorded, and 1:1 video is end-to-end encrypted. Your booking, notes and billing stay in the practice-management software you already use; MedCall just handles the video, cleanly.

The bottom line

Telehealth is a permanent, well-supported part of general practice — but it rewards getting the details right. Match the item to the modality, confirm the patient meets the eligibility rules (especially the 12-month relationship), run the consult to the same standard you would in the room, and remove the technology friction for the patient. Get those basics right and telehealth becomes one of the most efficient parts of your week. For the college’s full guidance, start with the RACGP telehealth resources, and check the current rules with Services Australia before you claim.