HealthLink hits a bullseye on second proposal

3 minute read


HealthLink has announced a new and improved wave of products after collaboration with the RACGP.


General practitioners are rejoicing, with HealthLink announcing new options for its services after open collaboration and discussion with the RACGP. 

The move has been heavily praised by the college and GPs alike who have welcomed the active engagement from the health IT network. 

“It’s really positive to see people listening to the concerns of GPs from around the country and recognising that the financial viability of general practice is crucial for the functioning of our whole health system,” RACGP president Dr Michael Wright told The Medical Republic

“HealthLink recognised that their earlier proposals missed the mark and that we cannot afford to shift digital transformation costs onto GPs and patients.” 

Products from the provider have now been split into new “professional” and “essential” packages after consultation with the college. 

This change has come following backlash against the provider over its plans to charge GPs a subscription for its services back in December 2024. 

HealthLink had initially planned for small practices to start paying a fee of $252 per year, medium-sized practices to pay $600 and larger practices topping it out at $1000 per year. 

The ensuing backlash pushed the provider to pause the fee rollout following discussion with the RACGP. 

“We know that with more than 7000 practices around the country, that additional costs or new policies are going to have a variety of impacts,” Dr Wright told TMR.  

“In this case, it has been great to see more costs of care just not being pushed onto practices.” 

With how much of a shock the initial announcement was for GPs, this new proposal has been received positively by both respective parties. 

“We accept that our initial proposal missed the mark in key areas, and we’ve listened carefully,” HealthLink Australia managing director Dave Young said. 

“The new model reflects those conversations – preserving choice for practices while allowing us to keep building and improving HealthLink for the future.” 

Now meeting the mark, HealthLink has instead removed the proposed scale-dependent billing system and confirmed there will be no additional costs related to usage volume. 

HealthLink will now offer the ‘Essential’ and ‘Professional’ products with approval from the college. 

The “essential” package will provide basic services with free access to sending and receiving diagnostics and referral information, as well as those introduced via the HealthLink referral portal including any government-mandated electronic referral system. 

HealthLink have also announced an optional $12 per year payment for an updated contract set to provide cybersecurity and support commitments with the provider confirming that this fee will not increase over time. 

The “professional” package will come with a subscription trial fee of $480 per year for interested practices and is expected to provide an extensive range of additional service in the coming months. 

“It’s great that HealthLink has listened to the concerns of GPs and has made these changes – GPs shouldn’t have to bear the costs of carrying digital transformation,” Dr Wright told NewsGP

“Many GPs were particularly concerned about hospital services and government agencies mandating the use of HealthLink and that the cost of using this service was going to be shifted onto GPs and practices when our financial viability is already struggling.” 

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