GPs reject claim of 50% telehealth transition

eHealthNews.nz: Digital Patient

Wednesday, 8 May 2024

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NEWS - eHealthNews.nz editor Rebecca McBeth

Health NZ Te Whatu Ora is looking to optimise the use of telehealth to meet demand in primary care, but GPs have strongly rejected claims that up to 50 per cent of general practice work could be done via telehealth.

Martin Hefford, director of Living Well at Health NZ, said at a recent ‘future of health’ webinar that telehealth is a way to deal with the mismatch between the supply of GP services and projected demand.

“Estimates are that up to 40-50 percent of general practice work could be done through telehealth consultations,” he said at the stakeholder hui.

General Practice New Zealand (GPNZ) and Pinnacle have issued statements strongly disagreeing with this assertion, saying it undervalues the contribution general practice makes to patient health.

Hefford said the country is already a couple of hundred GPs short and the forecast ongoing GP shortage combined with increased demand means alternative solutions are needed to address demand.

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“About 33 percent of our practices have closed books or partly closed books meaning they are not enrolling everybody who wants to enrol,” he said.

“We know there are cost barriers: that about half a million people reported in the last health survey that they could not get an appointment when they wanted one because of cost barriers, and even more significant, we know there are real waiting time barriers.”

He told the audience that despite record enrolments in GP training, Health NZ is still forecasting to be 700-1000 GPs short by 2033.

“The medical cavalry is not coming... by which I mean that we are not going to be able to train enough doctors to cover the GP shortage that we forecast and we have to look at other ways of managing access and managing health problems and demand,” Hefford said.

“The optimal use of telehealth is one of our future directions.”

Pinnacle Kaiwhakatere (chief executive) Justin Butcher says that while telehealth services can be a valuable tool, suggesting that up to half of all GP appointments could be conducted online disregards the importance of continuity of care and the value of face-to-face interaction between patients and their general practice team.

“We have seen the positive impact of telehealth initiatives like Practice Plus, and Ka Ora which supports our rural communities. However, the telehealth model is a supplement to traditional in-person care, not a replacement.

Porirua-based GP and chair of GPNZ Bryan Betty says GPNZ advocates for the appropriate use of telehealth services, but says there are a huge number of instances where telehealth is not appropriate or clinically safe.

“Telehealth is good in a select set of circumstances,” he says.

“Specialist GPs use their judgement on when telehealth is appropriate that is influenced by a huge range of factors.”

Both GP organisations said they would discuss the comments directly with Health NZ Te Whatu Ora.

Picture: Martin Hefford, director of Living Well at Health NZ, presenting at a recent ‘future of health’ webinar