Last week the nation’s Chief Medical Officer, Professor Brendan Murphy, made a plea to patients: don’t neglect your ongoing general health. “Don’t stop going to your GP,” he said at a news conference on 8 April. "There are lots of people with medical conditions in the community who need regular check-ups, regular review … please don’t neglect general health conditions at the moment. That is a really important message.” 

While in many ways it feels as though the world has come to a standstill, the truth is that health conditions don’t stand still. That’s why the government has introduced new Medicare-funded telehealth appointments for GPs, so that patients can still consult their doctor about ongoing or arising medical conditions. 

At the same time, most GP practices are still open for face-to-face consultations, because sometimes a telehealth call will not be suitable.

Patients can also continue along their treatment path with diagnostic imaging, if that is required. At I-MED Radiology we know that it is even more important than ever to keep providing essential radiology services to our practitioners and patients. 

GPs can now refer for our radiology procedures electronically, which means the imaging request is sent straight to us, and we are able to call the patient to arrange an appointment. “It’s a more streamlined system for patients who are often not feeling well anyway, and who have the added stress and anxiety associated with making appointments at the moment,” says Dr Ron Shnier, I-MED Radiology’s Chief Medical Officer. “We have developed this E-referral technology in response to the pandemic, and so far we have arranged radiology appointments for hundreds of our patients.”

Patients who are elderly, immunocompromised or pregnant can also have additional peace of mind by calling us and requesting a special appointment time.

So while the coronavirus pandemic has effectively put most of our normal activities on hold, if you need medical treatment, the message is: follow it up. Don’t stop going to your GP.