Can I Get a Specialist Referral Letter Online?

Full disclaimer: I am not a lawyer and this is not legal advice. Should you be in a sticky situation, you should always seek out advice from a legal professional.

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Yes, you sure can get a specialist referral letter online.

And they’re the go-to choice for specialist referral letters in Australia generally these days.

Online specialist referral letters, and online health more generally, saw a rapid surge in demand due to COVID-19 limiting the ability of Australians to visit traditional healthcare providers.

In fact, one study found that compared to pre-COVID levels, telehealth usage had jumped 38x by 2021. Put another way, that’s a 3800% increase. That’s around 7 times more than what Bitcoin grew in 2020…

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Why get a specialist referral letter online?

Once savvy Aussies started getting specialist referral letters online during COVID, they quickly realised three things:

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1. It’s far more convenient — it’s incredibly inconvenient to travel all the way to a GP just to get a referral letter for a specialist when you know what you already need. Not only that, but you have to try and find an appointment and maybe even get time off work if it’s within business hours. When done online through updoc, the initial consultation can be done from your mobile in minutes — meaning you don’t need to leave home, or your office, or wherever you might be
2. It’s far more accessible — one study found that telehealth improves healthcare access for all populations, but in particular those in areas where access to health services is more difficult
3. It’s better value for money — rather than having to pay for a GP appointment, pay for travel to & from the GP, and potentially having to take time off work or organise the kids to come with you, people have realised it’s far more convenient to just be wherever they want while a Partner Doctor sorts out their specialist referral letter

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Believe it or not, there are more than 158,000,000 GP visits in Australia per year! Telehealth has an additional benefit of significantly reducing the burden on traditional healthcare, freeing up doctors to focus on quality of care, rather than quantity of care.

And most specialist issues can easily be referred by a Partner Doctor through MinuteHealth, such as referral to a dermatologist for assessment/management of acne, referral to a sleep physician for sleep apnoea, referral to a urologist for a vasectomy, referral to a gynaecologist for insertion of an IUD, or referral to an eye specialist for laser eye surgery — just to name a few.

Being an Aussie owned & run company, updoc understands the importance of helping our fellow Aussies out in times of need.

We also understand what it’s like to be in the queue at a doctor’s office just to get a letter for something you could get from home or work, just so you can get the specialist care you need without completely losing heaps of time. Being able to get specialist referral letters online helps Australians get the specialist care they need when they need it so they can get back on their feet and back to better health in no time.

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How can I get a specialist referral letter online?

If you need an online specialist referral letter, it’s a simple process to get one through MinuteHealth:

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📱 Head here

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📝 Fill in a short form — it asks for key details about your medical issue

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👨‍⚕️ Consult with your own Partner Doctor — they’ll take the medical information you provide and review within 24 hours

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📥 Get your specialist referral letter to your inbox — you’ll receive an SMS and an e-mail with your specialist referral letter ready to download

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It’s important to note that the independent Partner Doctor will read your health notes and make an informed decision on whether to provide you with a specialist referral letter or not. The Health Practitioner does not work for us, and we’ve created MinuteHealth to facilitate a convenient, ongoing connection with them.

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