Table 3. Difference in first-time medication prescribing between face-to-face and telehealth consultations, April–December 2020.
| Consultation type | Number of consultations with a first-time prescription, n (%) | Total consultations, n | Face to face versus telehealth | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Difference, % | OR (95% CI)a | ||||
| Victoria | Face to face | 830 677 (18.6) | 4 470 203 | 7.9 | 1.93 (1.929 to 1.940) |
| Telehealth | 401 378 (10.7) | 3 764 927 | |||
| NSW | Face to face | 689 724 (18.0) | 3 833 030 | 9.2 | 2.33 (2.320 to 2.350) |
| Telehealth | 135 766 (8.8) | 1 540 056 | |||
| Overall | Face to face | 1 520 401 (18.3) | 8 303 233 | 8.2 | 2.03 (2.020 to 2.031) |
| Telehealth | 537 144 (10.1) | 5 304 983 | |||
aAdjusted for age, sex, socioeconomic status, patient status, remoteness, PHN, and the state of the practice. NSW = New South Wales.