The Government’s decision to fund telehealth providers at exorbitant rates is another example of National undermining family doctors and community clinics.

“It’s not right to pay large subsidies to telehealth providers at more than three times the rate paid to family GP practices,” Labour health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall said. 

Documents obtained by General Practice Owners Association (GenPro) show that subsidies paid by the Government to telehealth providers can be more than 300 percent the amount paid to GP practices seeing casual patients face-to-face.

“The fact is a doctor on a video call can’t do half the tasks they could do if they saw you in a clinic. Nor does the telehealth service have to buy clinical equipment. This Government has the wrong priorities and has decided to fund them three times more to do half the work.

“There is a place for telehealth in our health system, but not at the expense of being able to see a family doctor or nurse in your community.

“Telehealth is not sufficient care for the estimated 290,000 people who are not enrolled with a GP in NZ.

“This, along with recent changes to Primary Health Organisations (PHOs), shows the Government’s lack of concern for community centred health care,” Ayesha Verrall said.