Subject: TELEHEALTH QUARTERLY STATISTICS UPDATE
Telehealth Statistics
This page provides information about how to extract telehealth statistics from the Department of Human Services website and provides high-level statistics on the take-up of telehealth services from 1 July 2011 to 30 June 2016.

Confidentiality Provisions
The Health Insurance Act 1973 (the Act) includes confidentiality provisions which mean that data cannot be released which could identify either patients or providers.

GP Practice Data
Medicare data relating to telehealth consultations is not held at the practice level.

Further Provider Data
There are a number of professional colleges which have directories of doctors who are providing telehealth services. 
Extract your own data 
Statistics on the use of the Medicare Benefits Schedule (MBS) items, including the MBS telehealth items can be retrieved from the Medicare Australia website at:
https://www.medicareaustralia.gov.au/statistics/mbs_item.shtml 

Data can be extracted to show services, benefits and patient demographics (including sex and age range) by item and by state. A limited amount of telehealth data can also be extracted by Medicare Local and Divisions of General Practice. Users should note that some information is not available due to the privacy provisions of the Act.

To generate reports please follow the steps outlined below.

To generate a table using this tool you will need to complete each field on the page:

1. Item numbers: Enter the item number(s) you are interested in. If you wish to report on the range of telehealth items, you can use the item numbers below:
- For all MBS telehealth items: 99, 112, 113, 114, 149, 288, 384, 389, 2799, 2820, 3003, 3015, 6004, 6016, 13210, 16399, 17609, 2100, 2126, 2143, 2195, 2122, 2137, 2147, 2199, 2125, 2138, 2179, 2220, 10983, 10984, 82150, 82151, 82152, 82220, 82221, 82222, 82223, 82224, 82225.
- For specialist video consultation services only: 99, 112, 113, 114, 149, 288, 384, 389, 2799, 2820, 3003, 3015, 6004, 6016, 13210, 16399, 17609.
- For patient-end support services only: 2100, 2126, 2143, 2195, 2122, 2137, 2147, 2199, 2125, 2138, 2179, 2220, 10983, 10984, 82150, 82151, 82152, 82220, 82221, 82222, 82223, 82224, 82225.

2. Show: Select either services (number of services provided) or benefits (Medicare contribution to the cost of the services) and either count or per capita 

3. Report format: Select either by state, or by time period as desired

4. Time period: Select financial or calendar year as desired

5. Start date select July 2011 or later as desired

6. End date select date as desired

7. Select Create Report 

After a short time the data will be provided in a table. 
You can convert the data into an Excel spread sheet by selecting Download to Excel

Please also refer to the ‘important information’ section of the DHS web page which outlines specific details relating to this data.

Statistics to 30 June 2016

As at end of June 2016:
The Department of Human Services had processed over 475,545 Medicare telehealth services provided to over 144,400 patients by over 13,815 providers.
4,731 specialists have provided telehealth services.

Services, Patients and Providers by Provider Type – claims processed as at 30 June 2016
Provider Specialty Type	Services	Providers	Patients	
Specialist	320,677	4,731	144,400	
General Practitioner (includes practice nurse)	152,106	8,936		
Optometrist	510	65		
Midwife	54	15		
Nurse Practitioner	2,198	68		
Total	475,545	13,815		

Services by quarter – claims processed as at 30 June 2016
Year	Quarter	Services	
2011-12
	Jul-Sep	1,808	
	Oct-Dec	5,220	
	Jan-Mar	6,094	
	Apr-Jun	12,927	
2012-13	Jul-Sep	16,528	
	Oct-Dec	19,109	
	Jan-Mar	15,405	
	Apr-Jun	20,297	
2013-14	Jul-Sep	22,607	
	Oct-Dec	24,112	
	Jan-Mar	25,492	
	Apr-Jun	29,532	
2014-15	Jul-Sep	31,032	
	Oct-Dec	32,578	
	Jan-Mar	29,640	
	Apr-Jun	32,530	
2015-16	Jul-Sep	36,729	
	Oct-Dec	37,927	
	Jan-Mar	35,468	
	Apr-Jun	40,510	
Total	475,545	

Patient Services by State – claims processed as at 30 June 2016
State1	Services	Percentage of Services	
NSW	141,974	29.86%	
VIC	79,952	16.81%	
QLD	147,485	31.00%	
WA	32,933	6.93%	
SA	35,810	7.53%	
TAS	29,248	6.15%	
NT	7,111	1.5%	
ACT	1,032	0.22%	
Total	475,545	100.0%	
1. State is based on patient location, not the location of the specialist

Number of Providers by Selected Subspecialty - claims processed as at 30 June 2016
Subspecialty	Providers	
Obstetrics & Gynaecology	158	
Orthopaedic Surgery	170	
Urology	142	
ENT	75	
Anaesthetics	239	
Psychiatry	794	
Dermatology	155	
Cardiology	226	
Endocrinology	195	
Gastroenterology and Hepatology	211	
Neurology	158	
Paediatric Medicine	441	
Rheumatology	125	
Internal Medicine	121	

Services by Patient Remoteness Area (RA) - claims processed as at 30 June 2016
RA Name	Services1	
Major City	46,472	
Inner Regional	213,224	
Outer Regional	182,725	
Remote	23,122	
Very Remote	9,964	
Unallocated2	38	
Total	475,545	
1. Supported telehealth services are attributed to the location of the supporting provider, and unsupported telehealth services are attributed to the residential address of the patient.
2. Small discrepancies occur due to the apportioning of postcodes for remoteness areas.

Remoteness Area is determined by the patient's Medicare enrolment postcode as at the date their claim was processed, based on the Remoteness Area classification 2006 developed by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).Remoteness Classification: 
ABS Views on Remoteness Consultation, Australia (cat. no. 1244.0.00.001). Also refer to Census Geography Paper (cat. no. 03/01), ASGC Purpose and Use, available from the ABS web site.