Deakin Rural Health, School of Medicine, Geelong, Vic., Australia.
Budja Budja Aboriginal Cooperative, Halls Gap, Vic., Australia.
Aust Health Rev. 2022 Apr;46(2):170-172. doi: 10.1071/AH21234.
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.
澳大利亚政府迅速响应在 COVID-19 期间尽量减少初级保健环境中医患接触的需求，通过在医疗保险福利计划（MBS）中为远程医疗服务提供新的资金来实现这一目标。电话和视频会议的资金为包括原住民社区控制的健康组织（ACCHOs）在内的初级保健组织提供了能力，使他们能够继续满足社区的医疗保健需求，特别是考虑到原住民和托雷斯海峡岛民被认为易感染 COVID-19。从这个角度来看，需要对 MBS 进行积极的改变，以支持原住民和托雷斯海峡岛民的文化上适宜的初级保健服务的提供，包括通过 ACCHOs 的移动诊所，超越 COVID-19 大流行。
