Better Outcomes in Mental Health Care Initiative

Overview of the Program

The Mental Healthcare Project has been funded by the Commonwealth Department of Health and Ageing and will be running until June 2009. The access to Allied Health Services component of this Initiative is designed to provide those general practitioners who are registered for the Initiative with the Health Insurance Commission (HIC), support from Allied Health Professionals in treating people with a mental health disorder.

The project envisages improving mental health care of the rural population by providing efficient and effective collaborative mental health consultation services by linking allied health professionals with GPs. It also encourages evidence-based practice in primary mental health care and recognises that good practice in mental health includes both pharmacological and non-pharmacological interventions.

The Division has contracted six psychologists and one drug and alcohol counsellor to provide Evidence Based Focused Psychological Strategies.

The initiative has five major components.

  1. Education and Training for General Practitioners - to familiarise them with the initiative and to increase their mental health care skills and knowledge.

    Australian Division of General Practice - Self Directed Familiarisation Training Package

  2. The 3 Step Mental Health Process provides a framework for the management of mental health disorders in a primary care setting, by encouraging effective and holistic patient assessment, mental health planning and review. Eligible GPs who are registered with the HIC for the initiative, will receive a Service Incentive Payment for providing a 3 Step Mental Health Process

    The project has ongoing funding until June 2009 and possibility of funding for the next trinieum.

  3. Focussed Psychological Strategies – to encourage appropriately trained GPs (with Level 2 mental health skills training) to provide evidence based psychological therapies (FPS) through the provision of Medicare Benefits Schedule (MBS) rebates.

  4. Access to Allied Health Services – FNQ Rural Division's Access to Allied Health Services project seeks to identify patients, through eligible GPs, that will benefit from a psychological intervention. Services are provided through Psychologists and other Allied health professionals with which the Division has entered into a service agreement and are able to provide focussed psychological strategies in a timely manner. A key aspect of the project is the feedback and referral process from the provider to the GP that enables continuity of care and supports service integration. To view Allied Health Professionals in your Area please click here Contact List.

  5. Access to psychiatrist support – to better enable psychiatrists and GPs to participate in case conferencing and for psychiatrists to provide timely patient management advice.

    You can access psychiatrist advice by:

    Phone: Call 1800 200 588 and a mental health professional will ask you some questions about your enquiry, provide you with a case identification number and a time when the psychiatrist will call you back.

    Fax: A fax back form is available via the phone service. Fax 02 9425 3879 and a psychiatrist will then phone or fax you back.

    Internet: www.psychsupport.com.au is a secure, password protected website. Simply call 1800 026 965 for a username and password prior to accessing psychiatrist advice. Then register your question on the website and a psychiatrist will email you a response.

    Once you have submitted your question to the service, a psychiatrist will reply to you within 24 hours.

Criteria for patient selection for Allied Health Sessions

The referring GP is registered with the Health Insurance Commission for the Better Outcomes in Mental Health Care Initiative. K10 score above 15. (The K10 Score refers to a measure of psychological distress. Please browse www.crufad.org) (LINK REQUIRED)or any other depression scales. The referring GP believes the patient would benefit from a brief intervention with focussed psychological strategies and that the patient is motivated to actively participate in therapy aimed at helping them develop strategies to overcome their difficulties.

The patient is aged 18 or above. The patient is not currently in crisis and is not a risk to themselves or others. The referring GP has completed an appropriate referral (as per FNQ Rural Division of General Practice requirements) either by referral letter and the K10 Outcome Tool or any other depression scale by using the Mental Health Assessment Form, the Mental Health Plan Form and the Outcome Tool.

Diagnostic Categories Eligible for Inclusion in the Project

F32 Depression

F40 Phobic Disorder

F41.0 Panic Disorder

F41.1 Generalised anxiety

F41.2 Mixed Anxiety and Depression

F43 Adjustment disorder

F45 Unexplained somatic complaints

F51 Sleep problems

F52 Sexual Disorders

Z63 Bereavement

Exclusion Criteria

The patient is already a client of existing public mental health services.

The patient has a primary diagnosis of Personality Disorder.

The patient is actively experiencing psychotic or manic symptoms.

The patient has an intellectual disability.

The primary issue relates to smoking cessation or drug or alcohol dependence.

If the patient’s condition is currently acute and requiring ongoing crisis intervention and assessment of suicide risk.

The patient is below the age of 18 years.

Confidentiality / Privacy Provisions

GPs are required to provide the Mental Health professional with some background information about the patient being referred and the reason for the referral. When treatment is completed the Mental Health professional will in turn provide the referring GP with a report regarding treatment. The patient and GP will review this at their next appointment. Patients are able to access any of this information at any time by speaking either to their GP or to the Mental Health professional.

Everything a patient talks about during the course of the treatment will remain confidential between the patient, GP and Mental Health professional.

Information provided to the Division as the funding body is generic only. No names or other identifying factors are supplied.

What will the treatment involve?

Psychological treatment from a mental health professional generally involves working closely with them to learn ways to better understand and manage the problems you are having.

The treatment patients receive requires commitment from the patient to work with the psychologist in overcoming any problems that are identified.

The mental health professional clearly explains to each participant what can be expected from treatment.

What are the benefits?

  • Improved access to treatment for mental health related problems
  • Sessions are funded – a fee of $10 or $5 for concession card holders is charged for a session that would normally cost up to $120 per hour
  • Maximum of 6 sessions provided per block
  • Patients are free to withdraw from the program at any time
  • Work towards a better mental health
  • Skills developed in psychological therapy can result in long term changes, decreasing the chance of problems reoccurring as severely in the future

What are the risks?

The mental health professionals recruited under this program are all appropriately qualified professionals. Sometimes distress with occur when discussing mental health problems – this is something that needs to be addressed with the professional during appointment times.

How can I get involved?

If you think that you would benefit from this program, please see your GP for a referral.

For GP's, contact our Program Manager Clinical Services Dr Imran Durrani, phone (07) 4042 7333 or email idurrani@fnqrdgp.org.au.

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