Opportunities for further changes to the Medicare Benefits Schedule to support Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisations.

Abstract

The Australian Government responded promptly to the need for minimising patient-clinician contact in the primary care setting during COVID-19 by introducing new funding for telehealth services as part of the Medicare Benefits Schedule (MBS). Funding for both telephone and videoconferencing provided primary care organisations, including Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisations (ACCHOs), with the ability to continue meeting the healthcare needs of their Communities, particularly given that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples were identified as susceptible to COVID-19. This perspective considers the need for proactive changes to the MBS to support the delivery of culturally appropriate primary healthcare services, including by mobile clinics, to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples by ACCHOs beyond the COVID-19 pandemic.