Mariel Anderson, who was diagnosed with myeloma four years ago, relies on telehealth services for weekly appointments with her specialist in Albury.

"It's the only way to go, really," she said of her situation.

Mrs Anderson said if funding for telehealth was cut from the Medicare Benefits Schedule, the result would be a "large problem", due to the regular ongoing doctors visits she needed to undergo highly specialised treatment.

The only other option would be a round-trip in a community car, which would cost her $60 for each visit.

"Going to see a doctor is a costly business," she said.

Mrs Anderson started using telehealth during the pandemic for every alternate visit to reduce time spent going to the specialist, as not every appointment required her to be there.

IN OTHER NEWS:

"I have to go in to Albury to see my specialist, which means travelling," she said. "So my doctor would ring me, and I thought 'what a damn good idea'," she said.

Mrs Anderson also intends to use phone consults for her psychiatry and psychology appointments.

She said she decided on telehealth instead of in-person consultations so she could work around other appointments, with travel time and distance big factors in her consideration.

The Royal Australasian College of Physicians (RACP) had called for a Connecting Communities to Digital Healthcare program to keep health care accessible for people in regional and rural areas where face-to-face appointments are not possible.

Doctors believe a videoconferencing package to help patients understand how the technology works will help uptake of the service for priority groups.

The RACP said prior to the federal election it was important people living in the regions continued to have access to specialist care.

It argued the COVID-19 pandemic prompted a new way of delivering specialist care through telehealth, giving people in regional and rural areas, and beyond, greater flexibility in accessing specialists where travel may be an obstacle.

Mrs Anderson said in her experience, video calls were better with more experienced GPs.

The RACP had also called on the government in power to increase regional Specialist Training Positions.

Mrs Anderson said people who wanted to access telehealth but had low digital literacy needed more support.

"Telehealth by phone is much more accessible to older people," she said.

It is unclear what the new Labor government's approach to Medicare funded telehealth services will be.

Under the previous government, telehealth consultations would not be subsidised after June 30.

Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can continue to access our trusted content: