Photo: https://www.telehealth.org.nz/
Nearly 20,000 people have taken up virtual GP appointments since the government rolled out its 24/7 digital health service in July.
Health Minister Simeon Brown said in its first few months of the service there had been 21,740 consultations for 19,331 people across New Zealand.
The service was used most often when a timely GP appointment wasn't available (72 percent of bookings).
Eighty-three percent of patients didn't need an in-person GP follow-up after being treated through the service.
The chairperson of General Practice New Zealand (GPNZ), Bryan Betty, told Morning Report telehealth definitely had a role to play, "especially in the context where we do have an under pressure general practice sector that has been constrained".
However, whether telehealth was right for a person's health needs depended on the issue.
He said single acute issues like a cold or flu or where the patient needed an immediate response such as an acute after-hours issue were situations where telehealth might be appropriate.
But in situations where there were complex health issues or chronic issues that required ongoing care, there was a concern patients would lose out on continuity of care using telehealth.
There face-to-face consultations were the "gold standard".
He also wanted to see research done into whether telehealth was delivering a quality service.
Health Minister Simeon Brown Photo: RNZ / Marika Khabazi
A way of bridging the gap
Brown said the digital service provided easily accessible healthcare when it was needed, "bridging the gap when people might otherwise be left waiting, worrying, or unsure where to turn".
"This service is giving New Zealanders faster access to care when they can't see their usual GP, helping them get the support they need, when they need it," he said.
The service was reaching people in every corner of the country.
"Most people were able to get answers and treatment straight away, easing pressure on emergency departments by addressing non-urgent issues earlier and in the right setting."
Working-age adults and parents were the biggest users of the service, with strong uptake among 20-39-year-olds and children under 10. But it was being used across all communities, with every ethnicity well represented.
