ArticleNutrition & dietetics : the journal of the Dietitians Association of Australia2022
How have temporary Medicare telehealth item numbers impacted the use of dietetics services in primary care settings?
Article in Nutrition & dietetics : the journal of the Dietitians Association of Australia, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 6 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
6 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Systematic Review of Patient Preferences and Experiences Regarding Dietetic Outpatient Care.Journal of human nutrition and dietetics : the official journal of the British Dietetic Association · 2025Pooled it
- Cost-effectiveness of telehealth-delivered nutrition interventions: a systematic review of randomized controlled trials.Nutrition reviews · 2023Pooled it
- Two decades of Medicare: An updated review of Medicare-subsidised dietetics services in Australia.Nutrition & dietetics : the journal of the Dietitians Association of Australia · 2026Observational
- Telenutrition for the management of inflammatory bowel disease: Benefits, limits, and future perspectives.World journal of clinical cases · 2023Review
- How have temporary Medicare telehealth item numbers impacted the use of dietetics services in primary care settings?Nutrition & dietetics : the journal of the Dietitians Association of Australia · 2022Article
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Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
4 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
aimThe aim of the study was to describe the quantity and cost of in-person and telehealth dietetics services reimbursed under Australia's Medicare Benefits Scheme, before and during the coronavirus pandemic.
methodsPublicly available Medicare Benefits Scheme dietetics service activity data were extracted from an online database, between January 2019 and June 2021. For allied health telehealth items, it was assumed that between 10% and 20% of all consults were dietetic related.
resultsDietetics service claims reimbursed through the Medicare Benefits Scheme averaged 115 thousand per quarter in 2019. In quarter 2 of 2020, service delivery dropped by 25% compared to quarter 1 of 2020 and 32% compared to 2019. This drop recovered in quarters 3 and 4, with dietetic consultations claimed through the Medicare Benefits Scheme remaining relatively comparable to 2019 data. Dietetics services cost AUD 5,868,021 in quarter 1 2019 and AUD 5,742,632 in quarter 1 2020. Since the introduction of allied health telehealth items, the number of consultations claimed per quarter has accounted for between 17.7% (quarter 2 2020) and 4.5% (quarter 2 2021) of all consultations per quarter.
conclusionsThe provision and costs of dietetics services in Australia have remained relatively constant compared to 2019 data, indicating telehealth was being used for substitutive rather than additive care, apart from an initial reduction of 25% between March and June 2020. The introduction of telehealth items for dietitians has been modest, peaking at 17.7% and now consistently averaging 5% of total dietetics services. The permanent implementation of telehealth items is unlikely to cause significant increases in cost or access and will assist Australians to eat better to support improved chronic disease outcomes.
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