NEWCASTLE and Lake Macquarie residents are the biggest users of an online prescription service in Australia, as residents face up to three-week waits to see a GP in person.
The research, commissioned by digital health provider InstantScripts, found that more than 15,000 people in Lake Macquarie and Newcastle have used the service.
Nationally, the area has the highest number of users per 1000 people. Regionally, the Hunter Valley had the second highest number of people using the service, which provides online prescriptions, telehealth consultations, pathology referrals and medical certificates.
It found more than 20 per cent of Australians wait a week or longer for a GP appointment. But in regional areas, that rose to 29 per cent. The data, collected by TKP Market Research, showed Newcastle and Lake Macquarie residents mostly used the service for smoking cessation medication, nasal sprays, melatonin for sleep, and medications for depression, anxiety and asthma.
But the online prescription model has been criticised by organisations such as the RACGP, which says services that pair patients with "unknown providers" compromise quality and safety of care.
The Newcastle Herald recently reported Hunter residents can wait around three weeks for an appointment to see a doctor. A shortage of GPs, difficulty recruiting, and rising expenses triggering the closure of some practices were cited as issues contributing to the region's "crisis".
Dr Lee Fong, of the Hunter GP Association, said he understood why many people struggling to see their usual GP might find online prescription services convenient "in a pinch".
"But I'd caution against making it a regular habit - it's 'better-than-nothing' care, but it's neither as good nor as safe as accessing your usual doctor," Dr Fong said. "If you had a trusted mechanic you use to service your car, why would you use somebody else? Sometimes it might be a one-off matter of convenience when your usual guy can't fit you in. But for most other occasions, you use the guy you trust, because you know if the service isn't done right, it might cost you a lot more in the long run."
An InstantScripts spokesperson said their average wait time for a GP consultation was two-to-three hours and it was a convenient service for people with "less complex needs" - such as a repeat prescription.
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