Determining Consumer Preferences and Experiences Regarding Telehealth Delivery for Australian Allied Health Services

Start Date

21 November 2022

End Date

4 April 2024

Project Participants

Australian Government Department of Health Disability and Ageing, Curtin University, La Trobe University

Status: Completed

Tags: allied health, community health, consumer engagement, culturally and linguistically diverse communities, healthcare access, primary care, regional rural remote health, telehealth, virtual care, workforce

Opportunity 

COVID-19 hastened the spread of digital solutions to transform healthcare delivery in Australia. Despite the potential benefits there has been limited evidence about how consumers experience allied health telehealth services and what factors influence their acceptance and use. This project set out to address this gap by exploring consumer preferences, expectations and experiences with telehealth especially in relation to allied health care that could inform future health policy, service planning and digital health investment.  

Project Objectives  

This project aimed to identify consumer experiences and preferences towards the delivery of allied healthcare via telehealth and examine the factors influencing uptake, reach and quality of allied health telehealth services. This included:  

  • Comparing preferences for video, telephone and face-to-face consultations.  
  • Exploring the suitability of telehealth for different allied health disciplines and health conditions. 
  • Eliciting the value consumers place on telehealth, including their willingness to pay and trade-offs between cost, access, reliability and mode of care. 
  • Identify any differences in preferences among rural and remote communities, culturally and linguistically diverse populations and other population groups. 

The project carried out two literature reviews addressing evidence gaps in allied health telehealth, and delivered insights from diverse consumer focus groups and a national discrete choice experiment (DCE) involving 1,001 Australians.  

The research found consumers want models of care that provide genuine choice between virtual and in-person services. In‑person or hybrid models remain preferred overall but telehealth is strongly valued when it reduces wait times, is kept affordable, and is reliable. Preferences vary meaningfully by discipline and by population group, reinforcing that telehealth is not one‑size‑fits‑all. Three distinct consumer segments were identified, supporting the need for flexible, mixed-delivery models, with timeliness, affordability, reliability, and cultural responsiveness as the dominant drivers of consumer acceptability.

The project provides an evidence base to support the future design of allied health telehealth services in Australia. It demonstrates that telehealth can improve access and convenience of healthcare when implemented appropriately and informed by consumer preferences. National standards for telehealth quality, and uplift in safety and workforce capability across allied health services were also identified as factors that would influence greater uptake of allied health telehealth services.  The findings support policy directions on telehealth sustainability, allied health workforce planning, quality and safety standards, affordability settings, and culturally-informed care.

Integrity, Excellence,
Teamwork and Authenticity

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