Physiotherapy telerehabilitation activity and cost as part of the Australian government Medicare Benefits Scheme (MBS)

Objective: This study aims to describe the change in telerehabilitation service volume and cost, that resulted from the introduction of the MBS item numbers in response to COVID-19 in 2020 for physiotherapy services provided in Australia from January 2017 to December 2024. Methods: MBS activity and cost data for physiotherapy services between January 2017 and September 2024 were extracted from the Services Australia statistics website. Fourteen item numbers were used for the extraction. Data were grouped by delivery mode (in-person, telephone or videoconference), and reported according to these groups. Results: Telerehabilitation services for physiotherapy were not funded by the MBS until March 2020. Despite the pandemic and national lockdowns, telerehabilitation physiotherapy only accounted for a small percentage of MBS physiotherapy consultations, peaking at 1.84% in Q2 2020 and fluctuating between 0.36% and 0.79% per quarter after that. Telephone consultations were used about twice as often as videoconsultations from 2020 to 2023, but usage became similar in 2024. Medicare reimbursement costs reflected these trends, with telerehabilitation accounting for an average of 1% of the total costs, peaking during the pandemic. Physiotherapy had the lowest telerehabilitation usage compared to other specialties like mental health, and GPs. Conclusions: While the delivery of MBS-funded telerehabilitation physiotherapy services was initiated during the pandemic, its overall uptake was minimal and accounted for less than 2% of total MBS-eligible consultations during 2020-2024.