Telehealth Uptake and Impact on Care Activities in Australian General Practice During the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic necessitated a shift in the delivery of patient care, with telehealth rapidly scaled to facilitate access to care while reducing risks of COVID-19 transmission. In this paper, we present an overview of key findings regarding telehealth use from a large program of work examining the impact of the pandemic on general practice activity in Australia. Our findings demonstrate the pivotal role telehealth played in enabling patient access to care during the first two years of the pandemic. Importantly, however, we identified several facets of telehealth use including equitable access, workflow and infrastructure, and adequate funding, which require attention to optimise telehealth services in practice.