AMA Submission Sets Out Plan for Greatest Patient and Community Benefit From New Mental Health Funds
The AMA has submitted a comprehensive plan to the Federal Government setting out proposals that will deliver the greatest possible benefit to patients and the community from the significant new mental health funding announced by the Federal Government in the 2006-07 Federal Budget.
AMA President, Dr Mukesh Haikerwal, said today that the AMA's proposals are all about getting much needed mental health services and programs directly to the patients and local communities and avoiding money and time being wasted on new layers of bureaucracy.
"The Federal Government has committed $730 million over the next five years to support GPs and psychiatrists to provide more focussed mental health care and to improve access to other mental health professionals, and more funding is coming from the States," Dr Haikerwal said.
"The AMA will work with all governments to ensure that the funding is allocated effectively and strategically to strengthen the mental health sector for the long term.
"We have worked collaboratively with other GP and Psychiatry representative bodies in the development of our submission to ensure there is quick access to affordable quality care for patients with mental health needs.
"Our proposals are focussed on team-based care with doctors working in concert with other health professionals or in teams with mental health nurses, led by the medical practitioner.
"Team-based care will extend the reach of the currently available medical mental health workforce, without any loss of standards, and will provide greater flexibility in care provision as other resources and mental health professionals become available.
"A priority in improving patient access to mental health services and allowing doctors to provide the care is to eliminate red tape and minimise bureaucratic intervention in the process," Dr Haikerwal said.
Key proposals in the AMA submission include:
The Government should use existing Medicare Benefits Schedule (MBS) GP management plan items to allow GPs to manage patient care and refer directly to psychologists, where required, without interference in the doctor-patient relationship. If patients had physical health problems as well, they could also be managed through this system. This would also protect patients' privacy
These management plan items must be widely available. The Government must not create excessive barriers, based on burdensome additional prescriptive mental health training, making it difficult for GPs to access these items. GPs are already trained to provide mental health care and do it well. Wrapping management plan items in red tape will only disadvantage patients with mental illness who will find their access to care severely limited
The process for GPs to refer patients to psychologists must be made be as easy as possible so patients needing more acute care can get it quickly. This will encourage integration of care and facilitate good communication between GPs, psychiatrists and psychologists
'For and on behalf of' items must be included in the MBS to enable mental health nurses to be integrated into private psychiatry and general practice. These items need to cover all reasonable costs of employing a mental health nurse in a practice or between a number of practices, as appropriate
Fees for private psychiatric services must be increased to an appropriate level in order to provide an adequate psychiatric workforce in the long term and to keep access to these services affordable for Australians
Concession card holders who require care from a private psychiatrist should receive a 100% MBS rebate on these services. This would increase access and affordability for these patients
Psychiatrists should be able to refer directly to psychologists for specific focussed psychological treatments for up to 12 hours a year, where appropriate. The referral mechanism must be simple
The current 'case conference' item numbers should be made available to psychiatrists so they can call a case conference to discuss ways to care for people with a mental illness with all the appropriate health professionals and the patient
Telepsychiatry should be encouraged and supported to improve patients access and affordability, and should not restricted to rural and remote areas
The rebate for items that enable psychiatrists to create a management plan for patients being cared for by a GP should be increased.
The full AMA submission is available on the AMA website at ama.com.au//node/4021