Online help for sweaty sisters

Posted on 6 March, 2019

 Aka how my laptop and I are disrupting women’s healthcare (and how you can help with just a click!)

A couple of weeks ago, I held a very pleasant little soirée at my home. Nothing flash, just a bunch of close family and friends and a fancy cake. As lovely as it was to spend an evening with loved ones, the party was also a defining event for me—the launch on my new online women’s health venture, WellFemme.

Up until now  I’ve been able to poodle around with the idea, side-hustling while I tested the waters of business ownership. But there comes a time in every entrepreneurial journey though when you just have to back your idea, grab your nose and dive-bomb right in.

That’s what the party was for—to symbolically step into the light and declare my business out loud and proud. I highly recommend it to all you other Lady Startups out there (but perhaps don’t drink as much champagne as I did!)

What is this bold new business venture?

Well I’m so glad you asked because it relates to an issue near and dear to my own ovaries. At the age of 42 I began to experience night sweats, sleeplessness and mood changes, which at the time I chalked up to a series of personal setbacks. Even as a women’s health doctor it took me quite a while to work out that I was in early menopause.

I was lucky to know some great menopause doctors and get the help I needed quickly. But many women simply can’t access reliable menopause care, especially those living in rural and remote areas. This is where WellFemme comes in.

With telehealth I can now offer women evidence-based menopause advice and treatment from wherever they live by videoconference or phone. This mode of healthcare delivery has benefits for everyone: reduced running costs and flexible work conditions for doctors, less travel and inconvenience to patients and access to specialised healthcare that is often not available locally.

So why isn’t it being done more?

Thanks for asking! You see, most telehealth consultations are only rebated through Medicare if provided by a Specialist; this unfortunately does not include GPs (like me) under the current rules. I provide the exact same service by telehealth as I do in person, yet my clients can only claim a rebate if they visit in person.

If I were a gynaecologist my clients could claim telehealth rebates. It discriminates against GPs who provide specialised services, and it discriminates against patients who can’t attend in person.

Fortunately a timely funding grant will reduce the cost of WellFemme’s services for around 200 women in rural and remote areas, but this is only a temporary solution. At the end of WellFemme’s pilot program the cost of consultations will increase unless new Medicare rebates for GP telehealth visits are introduced. I’m working with organisations like Jean Hailes for Women’s Health to lobby Government for these changes and have just set up an online petition demanding these Medicare changes.

Show support for your sweaty sisters!

I’d love all you gorgeous HerCanberra readers to show your support for our sweaty sisters in the bush! Please be one of the first to sign WellFemme’s online petition, and share the link through your networks. Just a few clicks can help change the inequities in our healthcare system and get services to women who need them in rural and remote areas.