Telehealth & Regular GP Care Continuity

13CURE's telehealth service is built to sit alongside your regular GP, not replace them. This page explains how an after-hours online consultation fits into your ongoing care, and what happens when a telehealth visit reveals something your usual doctor should know.

How Telehealth Fits into Your GP Journey

Think of a telehealth consultation as covering the gap when your regular clinic is closed, not as a separate, standalone healthcare relationship. Where appropriate and with your consent, a summary of your consultation, including any advice given, can go to your usual GP. It works similarly to how billing and record-keeping operate more broadly under our Medicare and bulk billing guide.

Collaboration Between Online and Local GPs

Every 13CURE telehealth doctor documents your consultation to the same clinical standard as an in-person visit, which means the notes actually help your regular GP get the full picture at a follow-up appointment. This documentation approach reflects RACGP and AHPRA record-keeping standards Australian doctors work within, regardless of the channel used.

Why Hybrid Models Build Trust

Patients trust a service more when it's clear it isn't trying to pull them away from their existing doctor. 13CURE has run after-hours GP care for over 10 years on exactly that basis. Telehealth's role in our wider after-hours care service is to be there when your regular clinic can't, then step back and let your usual GP pick up ongoing care. That division of responsibility is part of what makes the model work safely.

What Happens If Telehealth Reveals You Need In-Person Care?

If the doctor works out mid-consultation that you need a hands-on examination, they'll explain why and help point you toward the right next step, a home doctor visit that night, perhaps, or a recommendation to see your regular GP once your clinic reopens. The goal is always to get you to the right level of care, not to finish the consultation for its own sake.

Keeping One Regular GP vs Using Multiple Telehealth Providers

There's a real benefit to keeping most of your ongoing care with one regular GP. They build a fuller picture of your health history over time, which supports better decisions than fragments of information spread across several providers. Telehealth works best as a reliable after-hours complement to that relationship, for occasional gaps outside clinic hours, rather than a replacement for a consistent regular doctor.

Requesting a GP Referral Through Telehealth

If your symptoms suggest you need specialist input, a telehealth GP can issue a referral the same way an in-person GP would, based on their clinical assessment during the call. You can then use that referral with the specialist of your choice; it isn't tied to seeing that specialist through 13CURE.

When You Don't Have a Regular GP

Not everyone has an established regular GP, and that's fine for booking a 13CURE telehealth consultation; you don't need one to access our after-hours service. That said, if a telehealth consultation reveals an ongoing issue that needs regular monitoring, it's worth using that as a prompt to find and register with a local GP, since consistent, ongoing care generally serves patients better than relying solely on after-hours services.

How Follow-Up Appointments Work After Telehealth

If a telehealth consultation identifies something that needs monitoring over the following days, the doctor will usually recommend a follow-up, either another telehealth consultation, a visit to your regular GP, or in some cases a home doctor visit, depending on how things are tracking. They'll explain the reasoning and the timeframe so you know what to watch for and when to seek further care.

Sharing Records Between Multiple Healthcare Providers

Beyond your regular GP, a telehealth consultation summary can sometimes be relevant to other providers involved in your care, such as a specialist, an allied health professional, or a pharmacist managing an ongoing medication. With your consent, we can share relevant details to support coordinated care, rather than each provider working from a different, incomplete picture.

Helpful Resources

How a Telehealth GP Appointment Works in Australia

The consultation and documentation process behind every 13CURE telehealth appointment.

Bulk Billed Telehealth Consults in Australia

How eligibility and billing work for an online consultation.

Telehealth for Rural Patients in Australia

How telehealth supports patients whose regular GP is a long drive away.

Home Doctor & In-Home GP Visits in Australia

Our full guide to when an in-person home visit is the right next step.