Summary statistics of GPs in analysis sample
| GPs, n (%) (N=448) | |
| Dependent variables | |
| Fraction of patient interactions using telehealth, mean (SD) | 0.46 (0.30) |
| Fraction of telehealth interactions using video, mean (SD), n=428 | 0.06 (0.18) |
| GP characteristics | |
| Female | 247 (55.1) |
| Age (years) | |
| <35 | 62 (13.8) |
| 35–39 | 30 (6.7) |
| 40–44 | 52 (11.6) |
| 45–49 | 43 (9.6) |
| 50–54 | 52 (11.6) |
| 55–59 | 75 (16.7) |
| 60–64 | 60 (13.4) |
| 65–69 | 44 (9.8) |
| 70 or higher | 30 (6.7) |
| Living with partner or spouse | 381 (85.0) |
| Have children | 249 (55.6) |
| Overseas trained | 97 (21.7) |
| Has fellowship of college | 285 (63.6) |
| Hours worked per week, mean (SD) | 36.17 (12.62) |
| % of patients bulk-billed, mean (SD) | 61.67 (30.72) |
| Fee for standard level B consultation ($), mean (SD) | 67.59 (17.70) |
| Practice characteristics | |
| Practice size | |
| Solo | 21 (4.7) |
| 2–3 docs | 46 (10.3) |
| 4–5 docs | 89 (19.9) |
| 6–9 docs | 152 (33.9) |
| 10 or more docs | 140 (31.3) |
| Number of allied health professionals, mean (SD) | 2.02 (3.71) |
| Number of nurses, mean (SD) | 3.16 (2.28) |
| Number of admin staff, mean (SD) | 5.58 (3.08) |
| Videoconferencing capacity | |
| Not applicable | 269 (60.0) |
| Applicable but never used | 64 (14.3) |
| Applicable and have experience | 115 (25.7) |
| Patient characteristics | |
| Majority of patients have complex health and social problems | 322 (71.9) |
| Number of patient interactions: | |
| No decrease | 188 (42.0) |
| Decreased by less than or equal to 20% | 131 (29.2) |
| Decreased by between 20% and 40% | 91 (20.3) |
| Decreased by more than 40% | 38 (8.5) |
| Area characteristics | |
| SES quartile | |
| 1 | 70 (15.6) |
| 2 | 114 (25.4) |
| 3 | 117 (26.1) |
| 4 | 147 (32.8) |
| Per cent of populatiion >65 years old, mean (SD) | 16.31 (5.72) |
| Rurality (MMM) | |
| MM1 | 293 (65.4) |
| MM2 | 45 (10.0) |
| MM3 | 39 (8.7) |
| MM4-7 | 71 (15.8) |
| State | |
| Australian Capital Territory | 6 (1.3) |
| New South Wales | 117 (26.1) |
| Northern Territory | 14 (3.1) |
| Queensland | 91 (20.3) |
| South Australia | 47 (10.5) |
| Tasmania | 13 (2.9) |
| Victoria | 120 (26.8) |
| Western Australia | 40 (8.9) |
Rurality is defined using the MMM: MM1, MM2, MM3, MM4 and MM5–7 are grouped with MM4 for the analysis. SES is defined using the ABS SEIFA Index of Disadvantage of the postcode of the GP’s practice and are in quartiles. Most disadvantaged is the bottom quartile (0%–25%) of disadvantage.
ABS, Australian Bureau of Statistics; GP, general practitioner; MM1, major cities; MM2, areas within 20 km of town with 50 000 population; MM3, areas within 15 km of town with 15 000–50 000 population; MM4, areas within 10 km of town with 5000–15 000 population; MM5–7, all other remote and rural areas; MMM, modified Monash model; SEIFA, Socio-Economic Indexes for Areas; SES, socioeconomic status; SES, socioeconomic status.