title: Have Primary Mental Health Teams lived up to their expectations?
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Primary Mental Health Teams (PMHTs) were established in Victoria in 2002 to integrate psychiatric services into primary care. This study aimed to evaluate the characteristics of patients referred to Eastern Health PMHT, the effectiveness of management plans and referrer satisfaction.
  
  
  METHODS
  Retrospective case note review of referrals (116) made to the PMHT from January to August 2010 and analysis of returned satisfaction surveys (105) from referrers between January 2006 and August 2010.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The mean age of patients was 40 years with 55% being female. The commonest primary diagnosis was depression (41%). The majority of patients (59%) had multiple psychiatric diagnoses. The response time for telephonic consultation was 1.4 days and 13.2 days for an initial patient consultation. Psychotherapy was the most frequently recommended treatment (85%). Average treatment period was 6.8 weeks and the majority of patients (93%) were discharged back to the primary referrer. Referrers were satisfied with PMHT services and average improvement of patients on the Health of the Nation Outcome Scales was 2.3.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our study suggests that PMHTs have embedded psychiatric services within primary care settings, with high levels of referrer satisfaction and patient improvement.
authors: Eastern Health, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. asirir2000@yahoo.com
authors: Asiri
authors: A
authors: Rodrigo
authors: Lea
authors: L
authors: Foo
authors: Jennifer
authors: J
authors: Majoor
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D005260:Female; D006282:Health Personnel / Q000523:psychology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology*; D008605:Mental Health Services / Q000458:organization & administration*; D008875:Middle Aged; D010549:Personal Satisfaction; D011320:Primary Health Care / Q000458:organization & administration*; D012017:Referral and Consultation; D016896:Treatment Outcome