Abby Health

Abby Health: Australian telehealth with doctors and nurse practitioners

Abby Health is an Australia-based telehealth platform that connects patients with Australian-registered general practitioners (GPs) and nurse practitioners (NPs). The company presents itself as an online healthcare service that allows consultations, prescriptions, medical certificates, referrals, and test requests from a mobile app. According to published information, the platform is used by 350,000 Australians.

Available clinical services

The platform organizes its offering into several areas of care. General services include telehealth consultations, prescriptions and prescription refills, medical certificates, pathology testing, care plans, specialist referrals, second opinions, a weight loss program, urinary tract infection treatment, urgent care, X-ray and MRI requests, and online birth control.

By health area, the platform covers:

• Men's health: erectile dysfunction, premature ejaculation, low testosterone, testicular pain or lumps, urinary problems, and hair loss.
• Women's health: urinary tract infections, irregular periods, endometriosis, breast pain and lumps, fibroids, polycystic ovary syndrome, breast health monitoring, and fertility counseling.
• Sexual health: STI symptoms, herpes, birth control, PrEP and PEP, and low libido.
• Mental health: anxiety, depression, PTSD, eating disorders, sleep and stress management, with assessments and care plans.
• Chronic conditions: diabetes, hypertension, thyroid disorders, irritable bowel syndrome and Crohn's disease, high cholesterol, and HIV, with medication management and analytics tracking.
• Common conditions: cold and flu, cold sores, reflux, infections, digestive issues, nausea and fatigue, as well as routine check-ups and preventative health.

Clinical team

The team is made up of Australian-registered general practitioners and nurse practitioners. The company states that every GP on the team is a Fellow of the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP) or the Australian College of Rural and Remote Medicine (ACRRM). Among the professionals featured on the site are Julia Segal (Nurse Practitioner, RN, MN, MACN), Dr. Bosco Wu (General Practitioner, MBBS, BMedSci (Hons), FRACGP), Kylie Sayce (Nurse Practitioner, RN, NP), Matt Rossington (Nurse Practitioner, NP), Julie Hasset (Nurse Practitioner, NP), Isabel Madondo (Nurse Practitioner, NP), and Lisa Irwin (Nurse Practitioner, NP).

How it works and response times

The service works through a mobile app. Patients can schedule an appointment or join the waiting queue. According to published information, most patients hear back from a doctor within 10 minutes to one hour, and same-day care is offered seven days a week. The app sends real-time notifications about the status of the consultation and allows users to track the progress of the case. Medical documents, such as prescriptions, test results, and referrals, are sent directly to the app.

Billing and coverage

Abby Health offers bulk billing through Medicare for eligible patients with a valid Medicare card, which means most consultations have no out-of-pocket cost. Eligibility is subject to strict criteria set by the Australian Government and depends on factors such as the patient's location, access to care, age, type of service, and the circumstances of the consultation. Some appointment types carry a private fee, the cost of which is shown in the app before confirming the booking. For patients not eligible for Medicare, consultations cost from 27 Australian dollars. The company states that it follows Medicare rules and that the doctor confirms eligibility during the consultation.

Assessment and tracking tools

The platform includes a symptom assessment tool called Abby AI, which helps users orient their case before starting a consultation. It also offers analytics tracking of mood and health, and the ability to build a personalized treatment plan. The site warns that, due to high demand, response times may be somewhat slower than usual and that there may be delays in sending prescriptions due to a system-wide issue with the provider.