There are some days when getting everyone to a doctor’s appointment feels like it should qualify as an achievement.

Someone needs to be picked up from school. Someone else has forgotten their lunchbox. You’re trying to answer emails between everything else, your toddler is refusing to put their shoes on, and somewhere in the middle of it all, there’s a medical appointment you really don’t want to miss.

Then there’s the actual journey.

Getting everyone into the car. Finding a park. Sitting in a waiting room. Keeping the kids entertained. Taking time away from work. Rearranging childcare. And finally, after what can feel like half a day, you’re home again.

Sometimes, of course, that’s exactly what healthcare requires.

But sometimes it isn’t.

And that’s where telehealth can make an enormous difference to family life.

Instead of travelling to a healthcare professional, a suitable appointment can sometimes happen from the comfort of your own home, over the phone or through a video consultation.

It doesn’t mean replacing doctors with screens. It doesn’t mean every health concern can be dealt with online.

It simply means that when face-to-face care isn’t necessary, technology can remove some of the obstacles that make accessing healthcare harder than it needs to be.

And for busy families, those small changes can mean a lot.

What is telehealth?

If you’ve heard the word telehealth and wondered whether it simply means a video call with your doctor, you’re not alone.

At its simplest, telehealth allows you to communicate with a healthcare professional without being in the same physical location.

That might be a video appointment or something as simple as a telephone consultation.

But today’s virtual healthcare is becoming much broader than that.

It can include:

• Video consultations
• Telephone appointments
• Secure online messaging
• Remote patient monitoring
• Digital health applications
• Electronic prescriptions
• Access to health information online
• Connected medical devices
• Some digital therapeutic services

The Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care describes virtual care as including both real-time care, such as video and telephone consultations, and care where information can be collected and reviewed at different times, such as some forms of remote monitoring.

So, telehealth isn’t really about replacing the traditional doctor’s appointment.

It’s about giving healthcare another way to reach you.

And that can be particularly valuable when life is already full.

When getting to the doctor is the hardest part

For parents, the appointment itself isn’t always the difficult bit.

It’s everything that surrounds it.

A 15-minute appointment can mean taking time off work, collecting a child from school, finding someone to look after another child, travelling across town and then trying to catch up on everything you missed.

Sometimes you can spend considerably longer getting to the appointment than you actually spend in it.

Telehealth can remove some of those practical hurdles when the healthcare professional believes a virtual consultation is appropriate.

You might be able to take the call from home while your baby naps.

You might not need to take an entire morning off work for a short follow-up appointment.

You may be able to avoid a long drive with a sick child in the back seat.

And if you’ve ever tried to get three children dressed, fed and into the car on time, you’ll know that avoiding one unnecessary car trip can feel like a small miracle.

The Australian Digital Health Agency recognises that telehealth can help Australians access healthcare without travelling to an appointment, including people living in rural and remote areas.

For families, that can translate into something very simple:

less time organising healthcare and more time actually getting on with life.

Families can reach specialists without always travelling for them

For some families, convenience is only part of the story.

Distance can be a much bigger issue.

If you live in a regional or remote part of Australia, seeing the right specialist may involve hours of driving, flights, accommodation and time away from work or school.

When a physical examination isn’t required, telehealth may allow a healthcare professional to consult with you without your family having to make that journey.

That doesn’t mean every specialist appointment can happen online. Some absolutely need to be face-to-face.

But when virtual care is clinically appropriate, geography doesn’t have to be quite such a barrier.

And that can be particularly meaningful for families managing ongoing health conditions, where appointments aren’t necessarily a one-off.

Instead of travelling hundreds of kilometres for every conversation, some parts of that care may be able to happen from home.

When telehealth can be a really good fit

There are some appointments where being at home makes perfect sense, without organising transport and childcare.

Depending on your circumstances and the healthcare professional involved, telehealth may be useful for things such as:

• Follow-up appointments
• Discussing test results
• Some medication reviews
• Ongoing management of established conditions
• Some mental health appointments
• Some allied-health appointments
• Certain specialist consultations
• Referrals and care planning
• Discussing non-urgent concerns
• Checking how you’re progressing after treatment

Perhaps you’ve already seen your doctor and simply need to discuss how you’re responding to treatment. Perhaps your specialist needs to talk through your latest results. Or perhaps you’re checking in about an ongoing health condition.

Parents may also be able to discuss minor symptoms, medication, concerns or follow-up needs without organising transport, taking extra time off work or arranging childcare. For some families, that flexibility can make it easier to seek advice when a concern first arises rather than putting the appointment off because getting to the clinic feels too difficult.

When a physical examination isn’t needed, travelling to a clinic may not always add anything clinically useful.

Sometimes, the best appointment is the one that gives you the care you need without creating another logistical headache.

And while telehealth can’t replace every type of healthcare, having another way to access appropriate care can help families deal with manageable concerns before they become more difficult to manage.

But telehealth isn’t right for everything

This is the part that’s really important.

Because as convenient as telehealth can be, there are times when nothing replaces having a healthcare professional sitting in front of you.

A doctor may need to physically examine your child.

They may need to listen to their chest, check their vital signs, examine an injury, look closely at a rash or carry out a procedure.

Sometimes a clinician simply can’t safely assess what’s happening through a camera.

And that’s okay.

Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (Ahpra) guidance makes it clear that virtual care doesn’t replace face-to-face care and that practitioners need to consider whether virtual care is safe and clinically appropriate for each individual situation.

In fact, sometimes the most successful telehealth appointment is the one where your doctor says:

“I’d like to see you in person.”

That isn’t telehealth failing.

That’s healthcare working properly.

Telehealth and children: what parents need to know

Children can make healthcare a little more complicated.

They’re not always able to explain what’s wrong. Symptoms can change quickly. And sometimes you simply need a healthcare professional to look at them properly.

There are situations where telehealth may work beautifully for children — particularly follow-up appointments, ongoing care, some developmental or behavioural concerns, medication discussions and some mental health services.

But there are also plenty of situations where your child needs to be physically assessed.

As a parent, you’re allowed to say that you’re worried.

If you’re on a telehealth appointment and something doesn’t feel right, tell the healthcare professional.

You can simply say:

“I’m still concerned. Do you think my child needs to be seen in person?”

You don’t need to know exactly what’s wrong.

That’s the healthcare professional’s job.

Your job is to speak up when your parental instincts are telling you something isn’t right.

And then there are babies…

Anyone who has tried to leave the house with a baby knows that a supposedly simple appointment can become an expedition.

Nappies.

Bottles.

Spare clothes.

The inevitable poo at exactly the wrong moment.

And then, just as you’ve finally managed to get everyone out the door, your baby falls asleep.

For some suitable appointments, telehealth can take away some of that stress.

A follow-up discussion or certain health questions may be able to happen while you’re sitting at home with your baby beside you.

But convenience should never override safety.

Babies and young children can become unwell quickly. If your child is seriously unwell, having significant difficulty breathing, unusually difficult to wake, has suffered a serious injury or you believe there is an immediate medical emergency, don’t wait for a telehealth appointment.

Seek urgent medical attention.

In an emergency in Australia, call 000.

What happens when healthcare becomes digital?

It can be easy to think of telehealth as simply a conversation on a screen.

But behind that screen, Australia’s healthcare system is becoming increasingly connected.

Digital platforms can allow authorised healthcare professionals to communicate, share relevant information and coordinate aspects of a person’s care.

Remote monitoring can provide information between appointments.

Electronic health records can make important information more accessible.

And digital tools can help healthcare professionals stay connected with patients between traditional appointments.

For families, much of this happens quietly in the background. But making healthcare more connected also means healthcare organisations need to carefully consider how information is collected, shared and protected, alongside their clinical and regulatory responsibilities. As virtual care continues to evolve, providers developing or expanding these services may therefore choose to connect with life sciences law experts to help navigate the legal considerations that come with delivering healthcare digitally.

This is becoming increasingly important as virtual care becomes a more established part of Australian healthcare. The Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care is developing national standards for virtual care, with the standards expected by the end of 2027. The work includes considerations such as privacy and confidentiality, informed consent, patient identification, clinical safety, emergencies and deterioration, and transitions between different types of care.

This is where things get particularly interesting.

Because the future of healthcare isn’t necessarily about having more appointments.

It may be about having better information between appointments.

Why connected healthcare matters to families

Imagine having a child who sees several different healthcare professionals.

Perhaps there’s a GP, a specialist, an allied-health professional and a hospital team.

Every appointment creates another piece of the puzzle.

If important information is sitting in different systems and isn’t easily shared, parents can find themselves repeatedly explaining the same history.

“When did this start?”

“What medication are they taking?”

“Didn’t the specialist already send that through?”

Good digital health systems can help reduce some of that fragmentation.

Australia is working towards greater interoperability between health information systems, with national standards designed to support more consistent and secure exchange of healthcare information.

It sounds technical.

But for a parent, the benefit is wonderfully simple:

less repeating yourself and better-connected care.

Remote Monitoring: When Your Home Becomes Part of the Healthcare Team

One of the most interesting developments in telehealth is remote patient monitoring.

For families living with an ongoing health condition, healthcare doesn’t begin and end when you walk out of the doctor’s office. There may be symptoms to keep an eye on, readings to record, medications to manage and changes that can be difficult to spot when everyday family life is already full.

Rather than waiting until the next appointment to explain what has been happening, remote patient monitoring can help connect the appointments, allowing certain health information to be collected at home and securely shared with a healthcare team.

Depending on the condition and technology involved, that might include:

• Blood glucose
• Blood pressure
• Heart rate
• Oxygen saturation
• Weight
• Other condition-specific measurements

The Australian Digital Health Agency describes remote patient monitoring as using software and medical devices to support the assessment and monitoring of health outside traditional clinical settings, including in people’s homes.

For a family managing a long-term condition, including asthma, diabetes and heart conditions, this can potentially mean fewer unnecessary trips and more useful information between appointments. For a parent caring for a child with ongoing health needs, it may also mean being able to provide their healthcare team with information that has been collected in the familiar surroundings of home.

The US Department of Health and Human Services explains that remote patient monitoring can support ongoing observation, data-sharing and patient engagement. While healthcare systems and regulations differ between countries, the underlying concept is increasingly relevant to Australian families as digital health becomes a more established part of healthcare.

But there’s an important point here.

A device doesn’t replace a healthcare professional.

The technology collects the information. A healthcare professional interprets what it means.

That distinction matters as more health technology moves into our homes. A reading, alert or change in symptoms may provide valuable information, but it still needs to be considered alongside the person’s overall health, history and circumstances.

Remote monitoring isn’t about replacing face-to-face care. It’s about making the time between appointments more connected, potentially helping healthcare professionals see patterns, understand changes over time and determine when an in-person assessment may be needed.

For families already juggling school, work, appointments and everything else that comes with caring for someone with an ongoing health need, that extra connection can make healthcare feel a little less fragmented.

What about My Health Record?

If you’ve ever wished you could find all your family’s health information in one place instead of searching through emails, paperwork, patient portals and old text messages, you’ll understand why connected health records matter.

Australia’s My Health Record provides an online summary of a person’s health information.

Depending on what has been uploaded, it can include things such as medicines, allergies, medical history, specialist letters, hospital discharge summaries and other clinical information.

It is worth knowing that My Health Record is not a complete medical history. The information available depends on what has been uploaded by healthcare providers and other sources.

For families who interact with several parts of the healthcare system, however, having important information available digitally can make navigating care a little easier.

Something parents of teenagers should know

There comes a point in every child’s life when managing their healthcare starts to shift from being something we do for them to something they increasingly learn to manage themselves.

My Health Record is one example.

From age 14, a young person manages their own My Health Record, although they can choose to nominate a parent or another person to continue having access.

For parents, this can feel like a surprisingly significant milestone.

It is also an opportunity.

Talking to teenagers about health privacy, medical information and their growing independence can help them become more confident in managing their own healthcare.

And yes, that can feel a little strange.

After years of being the person who knows every appointment, medication and medical history detail, suddenly your teenager is beginning to take over that role.

It’s another small sign that they’re growing up.

Is telehealth actually private?

It’s a completely reasonable question.

After all, you’re discussing some of the most personal information you have.

Australian healthcare professionals have privacy and professional obligations when providing virtual care, and systems handling health information need appropriate safeguards.

As a family, there are a few simple things you can do too.

Choose a private place for the appointment.

Use the healthcare provider’s recommended platform.

Be cautious about discussing sensitive information where other people can hear.

Keep your devices and software updated.

And if you’re unsure how your information will be collected, stored or shared, ask.

You have every right to understand what happens to your health information.

The Australian Digital Health Agency’s guidance for remote patient monitoring also addresses cybersecurity and security requirements for the systems involved.

Convenient healthcare should still be secure healthcare.

What if you don’t have great internet — or don’t love technology?

Here’s something we don’t talk about enough.

Not everyone finds digital healthcare easy.

Some families have unreliable internet.

Some don’t have a suitable device.

Some people don’t have a quiet room where they can talk privately.

And some of us simply don’t feel particularly confident with technology.

That’s not a personal failure.

The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare identifies digital health literacy and equity of access as important challenges as healthcare becomes increasingly digital.

Telehealth should make healthcare easier to access, not create another hurdle.

So if video isn’t working for you, ask whether a telephone appointment or face-to-face consultation is available.

The best technology is the technology that actually works for the person using it.

Telehealth and mental health

For some people, being able to speak with a mental health professional from home can make seeking support feel a little less daunting.

There may be no drive across town.

No sitting in a waiting room.

No trying to explain where you’re going.

You can simply close the bedroom door, sit somewhere comfortable and have the conversation.

For some people, that can make it easier to take the first step.

For others, face-to-face connection may feel much more natural.

There isn’t a universal answer.

Healthcare is personal, and the best option is the one that is clinically appropriate and works for the individual.

What if you need an interpreter or extra support?

Needing additional support shouldn’t stop you from accessing healthcare.

If you need an interpreter, have a disability that affects how you use technology, or would like a support person involved, tell the healthcare service.

Ahpra advises patients to communicate accessibility and interpreter needs and recognises that support people, including family members and carers, may participate in virtual care where appropriate.

Healthcare should meet people where they are.

Not expect everyone to fit neatly into the same system.

How to make a telehealth appointment feel less awkward

The first few virtual appointments can feel a little strange.

You’re sitting at home talking to a tiny face on a screen while trying not to look at your own reflection.

Then your child walks through the room.

The dog starts barking.

Someone rings the doorbell.

And suddenly you remember the one question you really wanted to ask — five minutes after the appointment ends.

A little preparation can help.

Before your appointment, have your medications, questions, recent results and relevant information nearby.

If the appointment is about your child, make sure you know what symptoms you’ve noticed and roughly when they started.

And write down the questions you really don’t want to forget.

You don’t need to have a perfect medical history prepared.

Just bring what you know.

Your healthcare professional is there to help fill in the gaps.

Don’t be afraid to ask for clarity

One of the easiest things to forget during any medical appointment is that you are allowed to ask questions.

If you don’t understand something, say so.

If you’re unsure what to do next, ask.

If you’ve forgotten what medication you were told to take, ask.

If your child seems worse and you’re not sure whether you should come in, ask.

You don’t need to worry about sounding silly.

There is no prize for leaving a medical appointment pretending you understood everything when you didn’t.

Try:

“Can you explain that in a different way?”

“What should I look out for?”

“What happens next?”

“At what point should I come in?”

Those questions can be just as important as the original reason for the appointment.

And if the technology goes wrong?

It will.

Because technology has an uncanny ability to misbehave precisely when we need it to work.

The internet drops out.

The microphone stops working.

The camera freezes.

Your child suddenly needs you.

If something goes wrong, don’t panic.

Follow your healthcare provider’s instructions for reconnecting or switching to telephone.

And if the clinician can’t safely assess you because the technology isn’t working, you may need another form of consultation.

The technology is there to support the healthcare — it isn’t the healthcare.

What does the future of telehealth look like?

This is where things become genuinely fascinating.

The future of virtual healthcare is likely to be about much more than video appointments.

We’re already seeing the development and use of:

• Wearable technology
• Connected medical devices
• Remote patient monitoring
• Digital health applications
• Electronic health records
• Interoperable health information
• AI-supported healthcare tools
• Digital therapeutics
• Home-based monitoring

Artificial intelligence may increasingly help healthcare professionals with areas such as documentation, administration, information analysis and clinical support.

But that doesn’t mean handing healthcare decisions over to a computer.

Australian health regulators are already considering the professional responsibilities associated with technologies such as AI-enabled documentation tools. Practitioners remain responsible for the care they provide and need to understand how these technologies are being used.

The future is therefore less likely to be:

doctor versus technology

and much more likely to be:

doctor + technology.

And hopefully, that means more time and better information for the part of healthcare that matters most — the person sitting on the other side of it.

Australia’s healthcare system is changing

Telehealth is no longer something we associate only with lockdowns and COVID-19.

It has become part of everyday healthcare for millions of Australians.

In 2025, more than 11 million Australians had a telehealth consultation.

And Australia is now developing national safety and quality standards specifically for virtual care, with the Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care expected to deliver those standards by the end of 2027.

That’s significant.

It tells us that virtual healthcare isn’t simply a temporary workaround.

It is becoming part of the long-term healthcare landscape.

But the challenge isn’t simply making more healthcare digital.

It’s making sure digital healthcare remains safe, accessible, private, human and clinically appropriate.

Because the most sophisticated healthcare technology in the world isn’t much use if a family can’t access it, doesn’t understand it or doesn’t feel comfortable using it.

Telehealth: the good, the not-so-good and the important bit in between

Perhaps the easiest way to think about telehealth is this:

Telehealth can be wonderful when:

You need advice, follow-up or ongoing care that doesn’t require a physical examination.

It can be particularly valuable when:

Travel, work, school, childcare or distance would otherwise make accessing that care difficult.

It can become frustrating when:

The technology doesn’t work, the appointment isn’t suitable for virtual care or important information is missing.

And it isn’t appropriate when:

Someone needs urgent medical attention or hands-on assessment.

There doesn’t need to be an argument about whether telehealth is “better” than seeing your doctor.

Sometimes it is.

Sometimes it isn’t.

The real win is having the choice.

A few questions worth asking before your next telehealth appointment

If you’re booking virtual care for yourself or your child, you might want to ask:

Is telehealth suitable for this appointment?

Will this be a phone or video consultation?

Does my child need to be present?

Do I need to have anything ready?

What happens if the doctor needs to examine me or my child?

How will my health information be stored?

Who will have access to it?

What should I do if symptoms get worse?

What should I do if the technology doesn’t work?

These aren’t complicated questions.

They’re simply a way of making sure that convenience and good healthcare go hand in hand.

A parent’s quick telehealth checklist

Before the appointment, it can help to have:

Your device charged

A reliable internet connection

A private place to talk

Your medications nearby

Your questions written down

Relevant medical information or test results

Your child nearby, if appropriate

Interpreter or accessibility arrangements organised, if needed

And most importantly:

Don’t be afraid to speak up.

If something doesn’t feel right, tell your healthcare professional.

When you should put the screen down and seek help

Telehealth is designed for healthcare that can safely happen remotely.

It isn’t designed for emergencies.

If you or your child is seriously unwell, having significant difficulty breathing, unconscious, seriously injured, rapidly deteriorating or in immediate danger, don’t wait for a virtual appointment.

Seek urgent medical care.

If it is an emergency in Australia, call 000.

And if you’re unsure whether something requires urgent attention, seek appropriate medical advice rather than relying on an article to make that decision for you.

The biggest benefit might simply be having one less thing to juggle

Parenting already comes with a seemingly endless list of things that need organising.

School.

Work.

Childcare.

Appointments.

Shopping.

Homework.

Meals.

Activities.

Medications.

Birthdays.

Forms.

Laundry that somehow multiplies overnight.

Healthcare shouldn’t always have to add another major logistical exercise to the list.

When telehealth is appropriate, it can take some of that pressure away.

It can mean one less trip, one less morning rearranged, one less child dragged into a waiting room and sometimes one less thing that has to be squeezed into an already impossibly busy day.

For a family managing an ongoing health condition, it may mean staying connected with healthcare professionals without constantly travelling.

For someone living regionally or remotely, it may mean specialist care is a little closer than it looks on the map.

For a teenager, it may provide another way to begin taking ownership of their health.

And for someone who finds walking through a clinic door particularly difficult, being able to start a conversation from home may make all the difference.

But telehealth isn’t about making healthcare less human.

If anything, the best use of technology should give us more space for the human side of healthcare.

The reassurance of a doctor who listens.

The specialist who explains something properly.

The nurse who notices you’re worried.

The parent who finally feels heard.

The teenager who learns to speak up about their own health.

The child who gets the right care at the right time.

That’s the part technology shouldn’t replace.

It should simply help us get there.

Key Takeaways for Parents

Telehealth is now a normal part of Australian healthcare, with more than 11 million Australians accessing a telehealth consultation during 2025.

It can make suitable healthcare easier to fit around family life, particularly when travel, work, school or childcare create unnecessary barriers.

It can improve access to some specialists, particularly for people living in regional and remote areas.

Children can use telehealth when it is clinically appropriate, but some childhood health concerns still require physical examination.

Remote patient monitoring is changing the way some ongoing conditions can be managed, allowing selected health information to be collected at home and shared with healthcare professionals.

Privacy and cybersecurity matter, particularly when health information is being collected and shared digitally.

My Health Record can help connect important health information, although it is an online summary rather than a complete medical history.

Teenagers aged 14 and over manage their own My Health Record, unless they choose to nominate someone else to access it.

And perhaps the most important takeaway of all:

Telehealth isn’t about choosing technology instead of people.

It’s about using technology when it genuinely makes healthcare easier, safer and more accessible — without losing the human connection that makes good healthcare matter.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is telehealth?

Telehealth is a way of receiving healthcare remotely, including through telephone and video consultations. Virtual care can also include secure messaging, remote monitoring and other digital healthcare services.

Is telehealth available in Australia?

Yes. Telehealth is now an established part of Australia’s healthcare system. More than 11 million Australians had a telehealth consultation during 2025.

Can children have telehealth appointments?

Yes, when the healthcare professional believes virtual care is safe and appropriate. Some situations will still require an in-person examination.

Can telehealth replace a doctor’s appointment?

Not always. Some health concerns require physical examination, diagnostic testing, procedures or hands-on treatment. Telehealth is best viewed as another way of accessing healthcare when appropriate.

Can specialists provide telehealth appointments?

Yes. Some specialists provide consultations virtually, although this depends on the specialty, the reason for the appointment and whether physical examination is required.

Can telehealth be used for mental health?

Yes. Some mental health professionals provide virtual consultations where appropriate. Whether telehealth is suitable depends on the individual and the type of care required.

Can telehealth help with chronic conditions?

It can. Remote monitoring and virtual follow-up can help healthcare professionals stay informed about certain ongoing health conditions between appointments.

Is telehealth private?

Healthcare professionals providing virtual care have professional and privacy obligations. Families should also take sensible steps to protect their privacy, including choosing a private environment and using appropriate platforms.

What happens if my doctor decides I need to be seen in person?

They should explain why an in-person assessment is needed and advise you about the next step. Moving from virtual care to face-to-face care is an important part of providing safe healthcare — it doesn’t mean the telehealth appointment has failed.

Can parents access their teenager’s My Health Record?

From age 14, young people manage their own My Health Record. They can choose to nominate a parent or another person to continue having access.

Australian References & Further Reading

Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care — Virtual Care and national safety and quality standards.

Australian Digital Health Agency — Telehealth, My Health Record, interoperability and remote patient monitoring.

Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (Ahpra) — Information for consumers and practitioners about virtual care.

Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) — Digital health in Australia.

Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) — My Health Record privacy, access and health-information protections.

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