The Australian Medical Association fears patients would use online health services in preference to their local GP if a trial proposed by a Chinese company is approved by Prospect Council.

Prospect Mayor David O’Loughlin discussed the deal with executives from Hisense during a trade mission to Shandong this month.

He said the company, which is the third-largest TV manufacturer in the world, was keen to trial the service in Prospect because of the district’s high-speed fibre internet connections.

The AMA is concerned about the potential deal and says patients should seek advice from their GP instead of overseas doctors.

Mr O’Loughlin expects to finalise a deal with Hisense in the next four months but said it was too early to say when the technology would be available.

“(Hisense) have technology that can offer diagnostics right to someone in their own home,” Mr O’Loughlin said.

“We want to provide the best support for people possible at their house.

“Whether the diagnosis would come from a doctor in Australia or in China is still a question to be answered.”

The cost of the deal had not been discussed yet, Mr O’Loughlin said.

AMA state president Janice Fletcher said the organisation “would not advocate that people look offshore for medical care and treatment”.

“The use of technology to support patient care is a growing area,” Ms Fletcher said.

“However, this is only suitable in certain circumstances, in conjunction with the patient’s normal care and support from their local GP.

“The checks and balances are there to protect patients from substandard care, and are one of the reasons we have a very safe health system.”

Ms Fletcher said if Prospect and other councils wanted to support online medical services, they should consult local GPs first.

Health Minister Jack Snelling was unavailable for comment.

Mr O’Loughlin said Hisense was interested in trialling its traffic management software, which controls red lights, in Prospect and possibly Adelaide’s CBD.

Any deal would also include Hisense trialling new products, such as smart TVs and smart fridges, in Prospect before releasing them to the wider Australian market.

“They want to use Prospect as a learning experience to improve the designs available to Australia,” Mr O’Loughlin said.

“Every house and every business in Prospect has fibre internet and this will allow them to monitor consumer behaviour.”

This article was originally sourced from Adelaide Now and was written by James Hetherington.