Volume 197 - Issue 11
Better Outcomes or Better Access — which was better for mental health care?
Authors: Christopher M Harrison, Graeme C Miller and Helena C Britt
Med J Aust 2012; 197 (11): 620. || doi: 10.5694/mja12.11353
Published online: 10 December 2012
Published online: 10 December 2012
In reply: We share Rosenberg and Hickie’s belief that general practitioners should play a central role in mental health care. We showed with Bettering the Evaluation and Care of Health (BEACH) data that GPs have played this role in both Better Outcomes and Better Access.1
Rosenberg and Hickie rely on administrative data to make inferences about clinical practice. They assume that GPs not claiming review items ...
In reply: We share Rosenberg and Hickie’s belief that general practitioners should play a central role in mental health care. We showed with Bettering the Evaluation and Care of Health (BEACH) data that GPs have played this role in both Better Outcomes and Better Access.1
Rosenberg and Hickie rely on administrative data to make inferences about clinical practice. They assume that GPs not claiming review items means they have washed their hands of patients’ mental health care. On the contrary, BEACH data show that GPs continue to see patients and actively manage their mental health. They prepare and claim GP mental health care plans to ensure patient access to psychologists. However, claiming the review item is not required for a GP to continue caring for a patient’s mental health.
Responding to Rosenberg and Hickie’s questions: (i) GPs are responsible for the holistic care of patients, either solely or in collaboration with other health professionals from all fields (be they psychologists, cardiologists or urologists), and (ii) inequity in service provision needs to be addressed, but our study showed similar levels of inequity in Better Outcomes and Better Access.
Competing interests
No relevant disclosures.
References
- Harrison CM, Britt HC, Charles J. Better Outcomes or Better Access — which was better for mental health care? Med J Aust 2012; 197: 170-172. 0_HJJHEBGD
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