Updated:
Readtime: 4 min
Every product is carefully selected by our editors and experts. If you buy from a link, we may earn a commission. Learn more. For more information on how we test products, click here.
Getting in front of a GP can be the hardest part of looking after your health, whether you work shifts, live a long way from a clinic or simply cannot get a booking this week. OpenCare is a new Australian service built around that problem. Get matched with a doctor who suits you, within minutes. It is online and available 24/7, wherever you are in Australia.
It is also free for Medicare-eligible patients: consults are bulk-billed. Medication, tests or other services may cost extra. And because OpenCare works with doctors from practices across the country, you can see a doctor who speaks your language. Start a consult on OpenCare to see how it works.
OpenCare Online Doctors and Telehealth
OpenCare connects you with bulk-billing doctors from practices across Australia, online and available 24/7. The median wait is under 15 minutes, though it is not a guaranteed response time and varies with doctor availability. More than 30,000 consults have been completed on the platform so far.
Where clinically appropriate, doctors can issue eScripts, referrals, pathology and imaging requests and medical certificates, sent straight to your phone. You can also be matched with bulk-billing specialists, including dermatologists and urologists. Consults are bulk-billed for Medicare-eligible patients. Medication, tests or other services may cost extra. The site itself is available in 中文, عربي, हिंदी, Español and 한국어 as well as English. Find a doctor on OpenCare.
- Service: Online doctors and telehealth
- Availability: Online, 24/7, across Australia
- Median wait: Under 15 minutes (not guaranteed)
- Cost: Bulk-billed for Medicare-eligible patients; medication, tests or other services may cost extra
- Documents: eScripts, referrals, pathology and imaging requests, medical certificates where clinically appropriate
- Languages: English, 中文, عربي, हिंदी, Español, 한국어
How OpenCare Works
The process runs in four steps. You describe what is going on in your own words, answer a few quick questions, then get matched with a doctor or choose your own. From there you message your doctor, with no appointment needed, and any documents your doctor issues go straight to your phone. If you need to check in later, you can follow up with the same doctor, who already knows your history.
OpenCare is not tied to a single clinic. If your own GP is on the platform you can message them directly, and the OpenCare directory lets you search for a doctor by name, practice, suburb, postcode or language. Each profile lists the doctor’s qualifications and the languages they speak. OpenCare is not an emergency service. In an emergency, call Triple Zero (000).
OpenCare FAQs
It is free for Medicare-eligible patients: consults are bulk-billed. Medication, tests or other services may cost extra.
You can get matched with a doctor who suits you within minutes. OpenCare reports a median wait of under 15 minutes, but waits vary with doctor availability and demand.
OpenCare is online and available 24/7, wherever you are in Australia. It is not an emergency service. In an emergency, call Triple Zero (000).
Yes, subject to availability. You can search the directory by language or get matched with a doctor who speaks your language, and each profile lists the languages that doctor speaks.
Doctors can provide eScripts, referrals, pathology and imaging requests and medical certificates when clinically appropriate. Your doctor assesses your needs, so a prescription or certificate is not guaranteed.
OpenCare will not replace a clinic for everything, and your doctor will tell you if you need to be seen in person. But for the everyday business of seeing a GP, it removes most of the friction. Get matched with a doctor who suits you, within minutes, online and available 24/7. Start a consult on OpenCare.
Comments
We love hearing from you. or to leave a comment.