An asthma action plan is a written plan that you create with a doctor to help manage your child’s asthma.

The goal of an asthma action plan is to reduce or prevent asthma flare ups, and to avoid the need for hospital attendances. Following a written asthma action plan can help a child to experience fewer asthma symptoms, and to fully enjoy their normal everyday activities. An action plan also allows adults who provide education or care to children to take  the correct steps when asthma symptoms occur.

There are many excellent asthma action plan templates available in Australia, created and recommended by doctors, expert bodies and patient groups.

Qoctor currently uses a template designed by Asthma Australia, which is designed for use in schools or childcare settings. It includes a clear set of guidelines for dealing with severe asthma.

Further information about asthma, and support for patients and carers is available at:

Asthma Australia

National Asthma Council

Royal Children’s Hospital

The cost of getting an asthma action plan with Qoctor is $29.99. This covers the cost of the online assessment, a video consultation with the doctor and the asthma action plan document. The action plan can be downloaded immediately after the video consultation. In most cases it is possible to get a same day appointment- so you can avoid long waiting times for local clinics, and get what you need today.

No, unfortunately Qoctor cannot offer a Medicare rebate for telehealth. This is due to Medicare regulations in place since early in the COVID-19 pandemic, which state that a patient must have seen a doctor in person within the past 12 months for a Medicare rebate to be applied. Therefore, as a fully online telehealth service, Qoctor can not offer Medicare rebates. However, Qoctor aims to keep our services as affordable and accessible as possible, and we continue to provide same day appointments in most cases.

Qoctor can provide action plans to children aged 3 years and above. We recommend seeing your regular GP or paediatrician to obtain action plans for children younger than three years. This is because other conditions commonly present in children in this younger age group, that can mimic asthma or may occur with asthma.

• Rhinitis
• Respiratory tract infections such as bronchiolitis and RSV infection (respiratory syncytial virus)
• Acid reflux or gastroesophageal reflux disease (GORD)
• Other airway abnormalities or breathing dysfucntion

The purpose of the video consultation is to prepare an asthma action plan. Qoctor generally recommends that prescriptions for ongoing asthma preventer inhalers should be done by a local or regular doctor, because a physical check up may be required for your child, which obviously is not possible via telehealth. If your child is running short in their preventer inhaler, you may be able to get a “bridging prescription” from your pharmacist in the meantime. Reliever inhalers (most commonly the blue “Ventolin” inhaler”) are available over the counter from pharmacies, without prescription. Always make sure you use a spacer with your inhalers, where possible, as this provides the best delivery of the medication into the lungs. Your pharmacist can advise you on spacer devices. As always, if your child is unwell or has a lot of asthma symptoms, such as wheeze, cough or chest tightness, you should seek medical attention.

In most situations, Qoctor can provide an asthma action plan- however, we will recommend that you see a local doctor in certain situations, including:

• if your child’s asthma is not well controlled
• if your child is acutely unwell with respiratory symptoms
• if your child has had 2 or more hospital admissions due to asthma in the past 12 months
• if the diagnosis of asthma is not certain

You will be refunded in full if the action plan cannot be completed for any of these reasons.