Better outcomes--a case study.
It is estimated that mental health problems will affect more than 20% of the Australian adult population in their lifetime. The 2001 Australian Commonwealth budget provided dollars 120.4 million over 4 years to improve the quality of care provided through general practice to Australians with a mental health illness. The Better Outcomes in Mental Health Care (BOMHC) initiative--which forms part of the National Mental Health Strategy--began in 2001 and aimed to improve the quality of care provided through general practice to patients with a mental health problem. This article reviews the uptake of education and training initiatives of the BOMHC initiative and good uptake by general practitioners across Australia. Well over 3600 GPs have completed the first 'level' of training associated with the initiative, representing 16.5% of the GP population. Access by consumers to mental health trained and registered GPs also significantly improved, with one in four practices employing a GP registered with the BOMHC initiative.
McCormack
Julie
J
QA&CPD Program, The Royal Australian College of General Practitioners, Victoria. julie.mccormack@racgp.org.au
Thomas
Julian
J
D001315:Australia; D004502:Education, Medical, Continuing / Q000458:organization & administration; D005194:Family Practice / Q000193:education* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005260:Female; D019538:Health Care Surveys; D006297:Health Services Accessibility / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008605:Mental Health Services / Q000592:standards / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D010043:Outcome and Process Assessment, Health Care / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D010822:Physicians, Women / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D019035:Rural Health Services / Q000706:statistics & numerical data