Home > Our Publications > Australian Outlook> 2004 > September

AUSTRALIANS will shortly be able to obtain instant diagnosis for minor sickness complaints by telephone in a bid to reduce the pressure on GPs and hospital emergency departments.
A special after-hours national medical hotline will be established as the first point of contact for sick or injured people who would normally seek to attend a hospital.
Trained nurses staffing the hot line would dispense medical advice over the telephone and decide if the patient's condition was serious enough to require immediate attention from a doctor or at a hospital.
If so, the nurses would alert the local emergency department or an after-hours GP clinic that the patient was on the way.
A similar hotline operating in Western Australia has resulted in half of some 845,000 callers since 1999 changing their minds about attending an emergency department and accepting alternative care.
Australian Medical Association vice-president, Mukesh Haikerwal said he supported the hotline concept but it was important that any calls were backed up by a local GP - particularly to ensure there were no legal problems.