Managing depression in a changing primary mental healthcare system: comparison of two snapshots of Australian GPs' treatment and referral patterns.

Abstract

Background Significant government spending has resulted in substantial changes to the Australian primary mental healthcare system. Initially producing the Better Outcomes in Mental Health Care (BOiMHC) initiative, this has been replaced by the Better Access to Mental Health Care programme, which allows all general practitioners (GPs) to refer patients for allied psychological health care under Medicare. Aim To examine changes in patient management and referral for care following the BOiMHC initiative.Method Comparison of results of a 2006 postal survey of Australian GPs examining self-reported management of patients with depression with a similar survey conducted in 2001-2002, prior to the B..