Stakeholder concerns about Australia's mental health care system

There is growing community and professional concern that the Australian mental health care system requires substantial reform. In response to these concerns, a Senate Select Committee on Mental Health has been commissioned to conduct an inquiry into the provision of mental health services. The current study involved a content analysis of 725 submissions received by the Committee, and highlighted significant areas for reform. People with mental illness face difficulties in accessing mental health care, the care they do receive is of varying quality and poorly coordinated, and necessary services from other sectors, such as housing, are lacking. These problems may be exacerbated for particular groups with complex needs or heightened levels of vulnerability. The system requires reorienting towards the consumers and carers it is designed to serve, and needs stronger governance, higher levels of accountability and improved monitoring of quality. These findings are discussed in the context of the recent acknowledgement of mental health as an issue by the Council of Australian Governments (COAG), which has called for an action plan to be prepared for its consideration by June 2006.

Using a problem detection study (PDS) to identify and compare health care provider and consumer views of antihypertensive therapy

The objectives of this study were to ascertain consumer knowledge and behaviour about hypertension and treatment and to compare these with health care providers' perceptions (of 'most' consumers). The design for the study was a problem detection study (PDS): focus groups and then survey. Focus groups and survey participants were convenience samples of consumers, doctors, nurses and pharmacists. The main outcome measures were agreement on a 5-point Likert scale with statements about consumers' knowledge and behaviour about high blood pressure and medication. The survey identified areas of consensus and disagreement between consumers and health providers. While general knowledge and concordance with antihypertensive therapy among consumers was good, consequences such as eye and kidney disease, interactions with herbal medicines, and how to deal with missing a dose were less well known. Side effects were a problem for over one-quarter of participants, and cost was a problem in continuing therapy. Half the consumers had not received sufficient written information. Providers overall disagreed that most consumers have an adequate understanding of the condition. They agreed that most consumers adhere to therapy and can manage medicines; and about their own profession's role in information provision and condition management. Consumers confirmed positive provider behaviour, suggesting opportunities for greater communication between providers about actions taken with their consumers. In conclusion, the PDS methodology was useful in identifying consumer opinions. Differences between consumer and provider responses were marked, with consumers generally rating their knowledge and behaviour above providers' ratings of 'most' consumers. There are clear gaps to be targeted to improve the outcomes of hypertension therapy.

Increased health care utilization and increased antiretroviral use in HIV-infected individuals with mental health disorders

Objectives The aims of the study were to describe the prevalence and associations of mental health disorder (MHD) among a cohort of HIV-infected patients attending the Victorian HIV/AIDS Service between 1984 and 2000, and to examine whether antiretroviral therapy use or mortality was influenced by MHD (defined as a record of service provision by psychiatric services on the Victorian Psychiatric Case Register). It was hypothesized that HIV-positive individuals with MHD would have poorer treatment outcomes, reduced responses to highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) and increased mortality compared with those without MHD. Methods This is a retrospective cohort of 2981 individuals (73% of the Victorian population diagnosed with HIV infection) captured on an HIV database which was electronically matched with the public Victorian Psychiatric Case Register (VPCR) (accounting for 95% of public system psychiatry service provision). The prevalence, dates and recorded specifics of mental health disorders at the time of the electronic match on 1 June 2000 are described. The association with recorded MHD, gender, age, AIDS illness, HIV exposure category, duration and type of antiviral therapy, treatment era (prior to 1986, post-1987 and pre-HAART, and post-HAART) on hospitalization and mortality at 1 September 2001 was assessed. Results Five hundred and twenty-five individuals (17.6% of the Victorian HIV-positive population) were recorded with MHD, most frequently coded as attributable to substance dependence/abuse or affective disorder. MHD was diagnosed prior to HIV in 33% and, of those diagnosed after HIV, 93.8% were recorded more than 1 year after the HIV diagnosis. Schizophrenia was recorded in 6% of the population with MHD. Hospitalizations for both psychiatric and nonpsychiatric illness were more frequent in those with MHD (relative risk 5.4; 95% confidence interval 3.7, 8.2). The total number of antiretrovirals used (median 6.4 agents vs 5.5 agents) was greater in those with MHD. When adjusted for antiretroviral treatment era, HIV exposure category, CD4 cell count and antiretroviral therapy, survival was not affected by MHD. Conclusions MHD is frequent in this population with HIV infection and is associated with increased healthcare utilization but not with reduced survival.

Models of psychological service provision under Australia's better outcomes in mental health care program

The Access to Allied Psychological Services component of Australia's Better Outcomes in Mental Health Care program enables eligible general practitioners to refer consumers to allied health professionals for affordable, evidence-based mental health care, via 108 projects conducted by Divisions of General Practice. The current study profiled the models of service delivery across these projects, and examined whether particular models were associated with differential levels of access to services. We found: 76% of projects were retaining their allied health professionals under contract, 28% via direct employment, and 7% some other way; Allied health professionals were providing services from GPs' rooms in 63% of projects, from their own rooms in 63%, from a third location in 42%; and The referral mechanism of choice was direct referral in 51% of projects, a voucher system in 27%, a brokerage system in 24%, and a register system in 25%. Many of these models were being used in combination. No model was predictive of differential levels of access, suggesting that the approach of adapting models to the local context is proving successful.

Meeting in the middle: Improving communication in primary health care consultations with people with an intellectual disability

The increased presence and participation in Australian society of people with an intellectual disability provides challenges for the provision of primary health care. General practitioners (GPs) identify themselves as ill equipped to provide for this heterogeneous population. A major obstacle to the provision of appropriate health care is seen as inadequate communication between the GP and the person with an intellectual disability, who may or may not be accompanied by a carer or advocate. This qualitative study in which five GPs, three people with intellectual disability, seven carers and two advocates (parent and friend) were interviewed was conducted in Brisbane, Australia. The aim was to better understand the factors that have an impact upon the success of communication in a medical consultation. Findings suggested that GPs were concerned with the aspects of communication difficulties which influenced their ability to adequately diagnose, manage and inform patients. Implications for practice management were also identified. People with intellectual disability reported frustration when they felt that they could not communicate adequately with the GP and annoyance when they were not included in the communication exchange. Carers were strong advocates for the person with intellectual disability, but indicated insufficient skill and knowledge to provide the level of assistance required in the consultation. The outcome was a model of cooperation that outlined the responsibilities of all players in the medical encounter, prior to, during and after the event.

Equity weights in the allocation of health care: the rank-dependent QALY model

This paper introduces the rank-dependent quality-adjusted life-years (QALY) model, a new method to aggregate QALYs in economic evaluations of health care. The rank-dependent QALY model permits the formalization of influential concepts of equity in the allocation of health care, such as the fair innings approach, and it includes as special cases many of the social welfare functions that have been proposed in the literature. An important advantage of the rank-dependent QALY model is that it offers a straightforward procedure to estimate equity weights for QALYs. We characterize the rank-dependent QALY model and argue that its central condition has normative appeal. (C) 2003 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Pilot study to determine the ability of health-care professionals to undertake drug dose calculations

Background: It is essential for health-care professionals to calculate drug doses accurately. Previous studies have demonstrated that many hospital doctors were unable to accurately convert dilutions (e.g. 1:1000) or percentages (e.g. percentage w/v) of drug concentrations into mass concentrations (e.g. mg/mL). Aims: The aims of the present study were to evaluate the ability of health-care professionals to perform drug dose calculations accurately and to determine their preferred concentration convention when calculating drug doses. Methods: A selection of nurses, medical students, house surgeons, registrars and pharmacists undertook a written survey to assess their ability to perform five drug dose calculations. Participants were also asked which concentration convention they preferred when calculating drug doses. The surveys were marked then analysed for health-care professionals as a whole and then by subgroup analysis to assess the performance of each health-care-professional group. Results: Overall, less than 14% of the surveyed health-care professionals could answer all five questions correctly. Subgroup analysis revealed that health-care pro-fessionals' ability to calculate drug doses were ranked in the following order: registrars approximate to pharmacists > house surgeons > medical students >> nurses. Ninety per cent of health-care professionals preferred to calculate drug doses using the mass concentration convention. Conclusions: Overall, drug dose calculations were performed poorly. Mass concentration was clearly indicated as the preferred convention for calculating drug doses.