What Is an Online GP? How Telehealth Doctor Consultations Work in Australia

By MediLeave Editorial Team  |  Reviewed by Dr Sabrina Campbell (BSc, MBBS, MSc, MRCGP, FRACGP)  |  Last reviewed 16 September 2026

Seeing a GP no longer always means travelling to a clinic and sitting in a waiting room. For many everyday health concerns, an online GP consultation can provide convenient access to an Australian-registered doctor by phone or video. Telehealth can be useful for straightforward problems, medication reviews, certificates, referrals and advice, but it also has important limits. This guide explains what an online GP can help with, when telehealth is not suitable, and when your usual GP or an in-person service is the better option.

What is an online GP?

An online GP is a registered medical practitioner who consults with patients remotely, usually by video or phone, rather than in a physical clinic. You may also hear this described as a telehealth GP, online doctor or telehealth consultation.

The doctor must meet the same professional and clinical standards that apply to in-person care. However, telehealth is not simply an in-person appointment moved onto a screen. The doctor cannot perform a hands-on examination, check vital signs unless reliable readings are available, carry out procedures or directly assess certain physical findings. A good telehealth consultation includes recognising these limitations and arranging in-person care when needed.

What happens during an online GP appointment?

The exact process depends on the reason for your consultation, but a typical appointment involves:

• Booking a consultation or requesting an on-demand appointment and providing some initial information about your concern.
• Speaking directly with the doctor by phone or video. A real-time consultation is important so the doctor can take an appropriate history, clarify symptoms and make a clinical assessment.
• Discussing your symptoms, medical history, current medications, allergies and any relevant previous treatment or results.
• Showing an area on camera when appropriate, for example a visible rash or skin lesion, while recognising that images do not replace examination when examination is clinically required.
• Agreeing on the next step. This may include self-care advice, an appropriate prescription, a medical certificate, pathology or imaging requests, a specialist referral, or advice to arrange an in-person assessment.

Where clinically appropriate, documents such as eScripts, certificates and referrals can be sent electronically after the consultation.

What can a telehealth GP help with?

Many common health concerns can be assessed safely by telehealth when the doctor has enough information to make an appropriate clinical decision. Examples may include:

• Some routine repeat prescriptions and medication reviews, where the medicine is appropriate for telehealth and the doctor has sufficient clinical information.
• Coughs, colds, sore throats and other uncomplicated infections.
• Medical certificates for work or study when clinically appropriate.
• Straightforward urinary symptoms and other common primary care concerns.
• Some visible skin concerns, such as acne or uncomplicated rashes, when they can be adequately assessed remotely.
• Initial support and assessment for concerns such as anxiety or low mood, including advice and referral where appropriate.
• Pathology, imaging or specialist referrals when there is a clear clinical indication.
• General health questions and selected follow-up consultations.

Telehealth works best when the clinical question can be answered safely without a physical examination and when there is a clear plan for follow-up.

What a MediLeave telehealth GP cannot safely replace

MediLeave is designed for focused telehealth care. It is not a substitute for emergency medicine, ongoing comprehensive general practice, specialist supervision or services that require physical examination and close monitoring.

Controlled medicines and high-risk prescribing

MediLeave does not prescribe controlled or high-risk drugs of dependence through brief telehealth-only consultations. This includes medicines such as opioid pain medicines, benzodiazepines and other sedative or sleeping medicines, and Schedule 8 stimulant medicines used for ADHD.

These medicines can require review of prescribing history, real-time prescription monitoring, assessment of dependence or misuse risk, physical observations, state or territory requirements and ongoing follow-up. If you need these medicines, please speak with your usual GP, treating specialist or the clinician already responsible for your medication plan.

Alcohol or drug withdrawal

MediLeave does not provide medication-assisted alcohol or drug withdrawal programs, including remote prescribing of diazepam for alcohol withdrawal. Withdrawal can become medically serious and safe treatment may require assessment of withdrawal risk, vital signs, medication and substance-use history, a suitable home environment, regular monitoring, staged medication supply and a clear escalation plan.

If you are drinking heavily or regularly and want to reduce or stop, do not assume that stopping suddenly is safe. A local GP, alcohol and other drug service, or supervised withdrawal service can assess the safest approach for you. Severe withdrawal symptoms, seizures, confusion, hallucinations or significant deterioration require urgent medical care.

Mental Health Treatment Plans and ongoing mental health care

A telehealth GP can provide an initial mental health assessment, short-term support and referrals where appropriate. However, MediLeave does not prepare GP Mental Health Treatment Plans through one-off telehealth consultations and is not designed to replace ongoing mental health care with your usual GP.

Mental Health Treatment Plans are intended to sit within an ongoing treating relationship and current Medicare arrangements link telehealth preparation of these plans to a patient's usual medical practitioner or MyMedicare-registered practice. If you need a Mental Health Treatment Plan, ongoing medication management or regular review, your usual GP is generally the most appropriate clinician to arrange this.

Chronic condition management plans and care coordination

MediLeave does not prepare GP Chronic Condition Management Plans as part of an ad-hoc telehealth consultation. Since July 2025, these plans have replaced the previous GP Management Plan and Team Care Arrangement framework for new plans. They are designed for ongoing management of chronic conditions and coordination with other health professionals.

Patients registered with MyMedicare generally access these services through their registered practice, while other patients access them through their usual medical practitioner. Your regular GP is therefore best placed to prepare and review a chronic condition management plan and coordinate allied health care.

Pathology requests and wellness testing

Telehealth is not simply a pathology-ordering service. A doctor who signs a pathology request is responsible for deciding whether the test is clinically appropriate, interpreting the result and arranging suitable follow-up. MediLeave clinicians may decline tests where there is no recognised clinical indication, where the result is unlikely to change management, or where appropriate follow-up cannot be provided through the platform.

This includes requests for broad or repeated 'wellness', performance or optimisation panels without a clear medical reason. MediLeave also does not provide serial blood testing simply to facilitate or monitor self-directed or externally initiated treatments such as testosterone, anabolic or androgenic agents, growth hormone, peptides or similar therapies when there is no documented treatment plan and appropriate medical supervision from the prescribing practitioner.

If another doctor or specialist has prescribed a treatment that requires monitoring, that clinician should usually provide the monitoring plan and specify the required tests. A MediLeave GP can still assess a new symptom or complication on its own clinical merits and arrange appropriate investigation when indicated.

When you still need to see a doctor in person

Telehealth is useful, but some symptoms and conditions cannot be assessed safely without an examination, observations, testing or a procedure. You should arrange in-person or urgent care for situations such as:

• Chest pain, severe difficulty breathing, signs of stroke, severe allergic reactions or other medical emergencies. Call 000 when appropriate.
• A serious injury, deep wound, significant bleeding or suspected fracture.
• Severe or worsening abdominal, pelvic or testicular pain that requires examination.
• Symptoms requiring physical examination, vital signs or point-of-care testing that cannot be reliably obtained remotely.
• Conditions requiring a procedure, vaccination, injection, wound care or hands-on treatment.
• Rapidly worsening symptoms or situations where the telehealth doctor cannot safely exclude a serious diagnosis.
• Complex or unstable chronic disease that requires ongoing monitoring and continuity of care.

A responsible online GP should tell you when telehealth is no longer the right setting and direct you to an appropriate in-person service.

Why continuity of care still matters

Telehealth can make healthcare easier to access, but it works best alongside a regular GP or general practice that knows your medical history. The Royal Australian College of General Practitioners supports telehealth as a complement to comprehensive, whole-person GP care rather than a replacement for routine in-person care.

For recurring symptoms, chronic illness, complex medication regimens, preventive care and long-term mental health concerns, maintaining a relationship with a usual GP helps ensure results are followed up, treatments are reviewed and important changes are not missed.

How to book an online GP appointment with MediLeave

Booking with MediLeave is designed to be straightforward:

1. Choose the service you need, such as a general telehealth consultation, eScript, medical certificate or referral.
2. Select an available appointment time or request an on-demand consultation where available.
3. Provide some background information about your health concern so the doctor can prepare for the consultation.
4. Speak directly with an Australian-registered doctor by phone or video.
5. Receive any clinically appropriate documents electronically after your consultation.

If your concern turns out not to be suitable for telehealth, the doctor will explain why and recommend the most appropriate next step.

Frequently asked questions