NZ Launch Of One Of Australia’s Largest Telehealth Platforms To Help Free Up Thousands Of GP Consultations

The launch of one of Australia’s largest digital healthcare platforms in NZ is set to help reduce pressure on the country’s overburdened general practice system by shifting thousands of non-urgent health issues online.

The move comes as health sector data shows the country faces a growing shortage of doctors. According to research by the Royal New Zealand College of GPs, New Zealand currently has just 74 GPs per 100,000 people - compared to Australia’s 116 and Canada’s 122.[1]

The College has warned that workforce shortages will likely persist for the next decade, with the ratio projected to fall to 70 GPs per 100,000 by 2031 without intervention.[2]

Rapidly growing Sydney-based telehealth provider Moshy has a team of 40 doctors and specialists and an annual capacity of 50,000 consultations. In Australia, the service provides online access to expert care for conditions including weight management, skin issues, sexual health and hair loss for over 150,000 patients.[3]

In the first stage of its New Zealand launch, a locally based team of five practitioners and 17 ancillary staff will provide GP consultations to support weight loss. The company aims to add additional services, including dermatology, travel and general health over the coming year.

With each patient typically consulting multiple times a year, the move is expected to divert up to 17,000 in-person GP appointments annually, helping to provide greater access for patients with acute conditions in community healthcare practices.[4]

The service is also set to help address access barriers identified by public health researchers. Massey University’s EHINZ reports that nearly 159,000 New Zealanders, disproportionately Maori, Pasifika, disabled and low-income, missed GP care last year due to lack of transport.[5]

Dr Kieran Dang, Moshy’s chief medical officer, says access to telehealth is ‘postcode agnostic’ and removes geographic barriers to care for a wide range of underserved patient cohorts.

“We started the platform to address unmet needs and conditions that are stigmatised, dismissed or overlooked in busy practices.

“We’re not here to replace GPs. We’re here to work alongside them, specialising in areas where we can provide fast, effective care and free up primary care resources.

“In Australia, we’ve delivered hundreds of thousands of consultations and that’s a huge amount of pressure taken off bricks-and-mortar clinics.

“The demand in rural and regional areas has surprised us. These communities are underserved, and telehealth is giving them access they have never had,” he says.

Dr Dang says one of the key challenges facing New Zealand’s health system is the mismatch between growing demand and the limited supply of general practitioners.

He says training new GPs takes years, and the current pipeline cannot keep pace with the population’s escalating health needs, however, digital models of care can potentially provide immediate relief.

“We’re not pretending telehealth is a silver bullet, but it can dramatically reduce pressure on face-to-face services by taking care of common, non-urgent consultations.

“When we collect detailed health histories and patient information in advance, our clinicians can use their time more efficiently. Patients avoid long waitlists for the specific issues they want to chat to us about.

“Longer wait times and the growing financial and opportunity costs of seeing a doctor mean many patients arrive with a list of multiple medical concerns. When this pattern is repeated across patients, the extra time needed to address several issues in each visit compounds, extending appointment lengths, reducing overall availability and adding significant pressure to an already stretched system.

‘We expect we will also see patients who are wanting greater privacy with issues they may be too embarrassed to raise with their regular GP, especially in small or rural communities,” says Dr Dang.

Dr Anasuya Vishvanath, Moshy NZ clinical lead, says the service will be staffed exclusively by locally registered doctors and nurses who are able to provide comprehensive care via the company’s digital platforms without the need for patients to travel.

“Telehealth can take pressure off GPs by handling common, less time-sensitive medical concerns. This gives us more time to deal with serious or complex cases.

“Our model lets us offer a wraparound service without needing to refer out.

“Many of our patients are women juggling families and jobs. A digital consult that fits their schedule makes healthcare more accessible.”

[1] Workforce survey. (n.d.). The Royal New Zealand College of General Practitioners. https://www.rnzcgp.org.nz/our-voice/workforce-survey/

[2] GP Future of Workforce Report. (n.d.). The Royal New Zealand College of General Practitioners. https://www.rnzcgp.org.nz/our-voice/workforce-survey/

[3] Combination of initial screenings plus consultation.

[4] Combination of initial screenings plus consultation.

[5] Who gets to see a Doctor? Data shows mobility barriers limit GP access. (n.d.). https://www.massey.ac.nz/about/news/who-gets-to-see-a-doctor-data-shows-mobility-barriers-limit-gp-access/

About Moshy
Moshy is one of Australia’s largest telehealth platforms, providing digital healthcare to more than 150,000 patients nationwide. Founded to address common but often underserved health concerns, Moshy offers convenient, discreet access to doctors and specialists through online consultations. Its clinical team of 40 practitioners delivers up to 50,000 consultations annually across areas including weight management, skin, hair and sexual health.

The launch in New Zealand in 2025 will see Moshy establish a locally based team of doctors and nurses to support patients with weight loss management. The service is designed to reduce pressure on general practices by moving non-urgent consultations online, freeing up in-person GP capacity. Over the coming year, Moshy plans to expand its New Zealand services to include dermatology, travel health and broader GP consultations.

By removing geographic barriers and offering accessible, wraparound digital care, Moshy is helping create a more efficient and patient-centred primary healthcare system.

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