Convened by controversial cannabis group Montu and chaired by former Health Minister Greg Hunt, the Telehealth Sector Working Group has moved incredibly fast.
A mere five weeks after its first official meeting, the newly-formed Telehealth Sector Working Group has released a draft set of principles which it says “establish a clear and consistent foundation” for telehealth practice across Australia.
While it bears a similar name to the official Department of Health, Disability and Ageing-commissioned Telehealth Working Group, the Telehealth Sector Working Group is not affiliated with the federal government.
Former Health Minister Greg Hunt is serving as the independent chair, with membership including industry peaks like the Consumers Health Forum, the Medical Technology Association of Australia and Rare Cancers Australia.
Other members include healthcare charities Royal Far West and Marathon Health, as well as government-funded national youth mental health foundation Headspace.
The Medical Republic understands that Headspace is a relatively new addition to the working group, having only signed on in recent weeks.
The group was convened by medicinal cannabis company Montu.
Montu owns telehealth clinic Alternaleaf, distribution company Leafio, fulfilment company uMeds, clinical education platform Saged and a stable of six medicinal cannabis brands.
Montu, Alternaleaf and their common director Christopher Strauch are currently subject to legal action initiated by the TGA in relation to alleged unlawful advertising of medicinal cannabis on websites and social media.
The working group’s C.A.R.E. principles span five pages and cover clinical, administrative, resourcing and ethical aspects of telehealth care.
Individual principles include telehealth providers ensuring continuity of care by allowing patients to request to see the same clinician over multiple visits, meeting all relevant state and federal compliance requirements and putting supervision structures and processes in place.
The document also stated that telehealth providers “must ensure that all clinical decisions, including prescribing, treatment and follow-ups, are made independently, free from commercial interests” and that “clinical autonomy must be protected at every level”.
A spokesman for the Telehealth Sector Working Group told TMR that the aim is for its principles to become a “shared benchmark” that organisations can stand behind to “build trust with patients and regulators alike”.
According to the spokesman, each member of the working group had equal input.
“Every member of the working group had the same input, contributing research, ideas and proposals – which was fundamental to the process,” they said.
“This isn’t about rubber-stamping; it is a genuine co-design exercise.
“Clinicians, technologists, regional providers, mental health experts, consumer advocates – everyone contributed language, shared real-world use cases and debated the principles extensively.”
Despite the relatively short amount time between announcing its presence to the world in May and putting out draft principles in June, the Telehealth Sector Working Group spokesman said the speed did not come at the expense of quality.
“It’s not difficult to move quickly when there’s a shared motivation – and a shared purpose: better care for patients,” they said.
“That common vision acted as a north star, helping the group navigate complex discussions and reach consensus with focus and integrity.”
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Notably absent from the Telehealth Sector Working Group is telehealth startup Eucalyptus, which runs online-only clinics Juniper, Pilot and Kin.
Eucalyptus released its own set of best-practice principles for telehealth in May.
Its six-page document covers clinical safety, clinical quality, clinical governance, patient outcomes, continuity of care and data protection.
When asked to elaborate on the differences between the two sets of guidelines, the Telehealth Sector Working Group spokesman said its version of telehealth principles were not the product of a single provider or commercial entity.
“We welcome all contributions to the conversation – it speaks to the sector’s momentum,” the spokesman said.
“Numerous organisations were invited to contribute to the first version of the C.A.R.E. Telehealth Principles.
“Some accepted, others declined. Participation was voluntary, but inclusivity was always the goal.”
The Telehealth Sector Working Group is taking feedback on its draft guidelines until 23 July.
