Alternative and Integrative Telehealth Providers

Using telehealth platforms has become an everyday experience for many Australians, with digital providers now filling some of the gaps for patients requiring remote, urgent, convenient, or after-hours care. Holistic approaches to healthcare are not far behind. In fact, even some of the most popular mainstream providers, such as Healthy Life, now offer alternative therapies, including virtual naturopathy sessions. But who really delivers sound integrated healthcare online? This guide to alternative telehealth aims to highlight a broad range of some of the most popular and reputable holistic telehealth providers. For in-depth reviews, check out my MediCompare provider reviews.

Your choice may be driven simply by convenience, as you cannot get a timely appointment at a suitable time at a naturopath near you, or you may be living far from the nearest reputable alternative therapist. Holistic telehealth bridges that gap, giving you easier access to a broader range of services at a time of your choosing.

However, there are a few factors to pay attention to in your search for the best fit for you. For example, where all providers, conventional and alternative, underly the same requirements for a synchronous video or phone consultation before prescribing medicine, some do not comply and offer questionnaire-based prescriptions.

Here’s a simple tip to cut through the noise of online marketing and website sales copy: If it mimics the process a good GP or naturopath would follow with an in-person consult, it is probably in line with the recommendations of the Australian Digital Health Agency.

Below, you’ll find some providers I have vetted in-depth and some I have researched more quickly. What I checked for was:

• Do they offer live consultations?
• Do they have consistently high rankings on trusted consumer review sites, such as Trustpilot (or Google Review)?
• How easy is the site to navigate and book with – at a glance?
• Do they offer comprehensive or highly specialised telehealth services?

Essentially, I applied a mini version of my approach to fully vetting providers here for MediCompare, to bring you a quick guide of what holistic telehealth services out there look pretty promising and seem to deliver a solid alternative to conventional telehealth.

Here’s my list of different platforms and providers offering solid options, depending on what you are after, from platform connecting you with individual alternative therapists offering online services to natural therapy-focused dispensaries with an online arm and virtually prescribing practitioners to comprehensive telehealth service providers. All of these are rated quite highly (over 4.5 stars) on at least one review platform.

• Healthy Life: One of my top providers in this list, as their telehealth arm is available 24/7, highly rated, and delivered by the popular Hola Health. Healthy Life adds a pharmacy and wellness shop, as well as naturopath consults and weight loss programs to the mix. As this is owned by the Woolworths Group, you can expect competitive if slightly higher prices and reputable providers only.
• Melbourne Functional Medicine: One of your best bets due to exceptionally high 5-star rating on Google. This Melbourne-based clinic essentially offers a functional medicine telehealth assessment and health coaching online.
• Green Life Clinics & Dispensaries: Rated close to five stars across all locations, this supplement-based has a price-beat guarantee and provides telehealth and in-clinic services. The focus is squarely on alternative therapies and natural medicine solutions for chronic pain, mental health, and sleep disorders. 
• Health Hunter: This is a platform (rather than a provider) that allows you to connect with integrative care telehealth providers. It only has limited but very positive Google Reviews.
• Polln: This natural medicine telehealth provider also ticks all the required boxes and has 4.6 stars on Google. You can get same-day and after-hours consultations with AHPRA-qualified doctors as well as express medication delivery.

When choosing an alternative telehealth provider, check they offer synchronous consultations with AHPRA-registered health professionals, clearly disclose their pricing before booking, offer convenient booking schedules, and take care of the medication delivery for you. My list above is a good starting point, but always double-check the most current ratings and make sure the provider matches your specific needs.

This article is for informational purposes only and is no substitute for professional medical advice. Please choose your provider with care. Always consult your doctor or a qualified health professional regarding any healthrelated questions or concerns.