As regional Victorians settle in to round two of stage-three restrictions, practitioners from 26 health organisations are urging them to keep up health appointments.
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Cameron Loy, Royal Australian College of General Practitioners Victorian faculty chair, said a health-related appointment remained a valid reason to leave the home.
"This isn't the time to miss that appointment or not get that mole checked, or forget about that lump that you're worried about," he said.
"This is exactly the time to be seen by your doctor.
"And if you're not feeling well - if you're feeling stressed and anxious, and this pandemic has affected your mood - again, this is the time to talk to your GP.
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"The police at the borders and at checkpoints are there to try and pick up people that aren't doing the right thing.
"One of the reasons why you can still travel is for a medical appointment."
The Continuity of Care Collaboration wants to prevent a drop in attendance to a range of health services from repeating.
"We've had some reports from the specialist cancer services that there was initially a downturn in the referral for cancer treatment," Dr Loy said.
"The common cancers in our society our breast, bowel and skin cancers; they occur with a fairly predictable frequency, and if centres were seeing a reduction in the number of referrals to treatment, it means we're not finding those cancers.
"If we can catch disease early and manage disease early, it reduces the trauma and illness for people later on.
"There's a measure used in diabetes which is around three-monthly blood tests. If we can bring that down by one percentage point, we make a huge difference for long term complications from diabetes.
"So during this pandemic, we want to still be getting those things done."
Dr Loy recognised people's anxiety about visiting health care settings.
"When the threat of virus or actual virus appears in your towns and suburbs, people stop doing things," he said.
"We all feel that anxiety when Premier Daniel Andrews stands up and tells us the figures.
"We've done all these things to make our clinics safer, and the federal government has funded Telehealth.
"There is a lot that we can do by telephone and video to help our patients.
"And if you need to go down to Melbourne, you can get through those checkpoints.
"The whole health system is trying to do whatever it can to make sure patients still have access. "
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Dr Loy said COVID-19 would result in long-term change for the sector.
"This is our opportunity for Telehealth to become part of the way healthcare is delivered," he said.
The message from the Continuity of Care Collaboration:
"Many people may have already missed out on a healthcare appointment, either for new symptoms or a check-up for an existing issue. Please do not delay any further. Even before COVID-19 restrictions, we were concerned about the low numbers of people getting cancer screening tests. We are already working to improve early detection and monitoring of type 2 diabetes, heart disease, kidney disease and asthma and to reduce the number of undiagnosed cases. We don't want COVID-19 to make these problems worse.
"The same goes for mental health. We know that since the pandemic hit, higher levels of anxiety and psychological distress have been reported in the general population. Anyone experiencing mental health symptoms should seek help, whether you are managing an existing condition, or the symptoms are new.
"Remember, health services are open to see you face to face and it remains safe to visit in person when you need to, with infection prevention measures, hygiene and social distancing in place. So, if you or someone you care for is putting off a visit to your GP, nurse, an allied health professional or a pathology test - it's time to get the care you need. Don't delay, it could save your life."
