The Australian Psychological Society (APS) has refuted suggestions that the Better Access scheme for mental health services should be scrapped in favour of a multidisciplinary care model, as suggested by researchers in an MJA article released today.
APS President Ros Knight said that although the Better Access scheme needed revision to better meet the changing mental health needs of Australians, abandoning it altogether was not the solution.
“Evidence shows that people with mild to moderate illness can be effectively treated by psychologists, said Ms Knight.
“Not everyone with a mental illness needs multidisciplinary services, only those with more severe, treatment-resistent and complex issues, and overall this represents only a small proportion of people with mental illness.
“The Better Access scheme supports collaboration between GPs and psychologists, but it is not currently set up to provide multidisciplinary care to those who need it,” she said.
Ms Knight said while reported mental health issues have risen, the number of sessions Australians have access to have dropped.
“In the 13 years since the 2006 introduction of Better Access, the number of sessions for psychological care available has fallen from 18 to 10.
“However, the number of mental health issues reported in the community has risen sharply in that time.
“For some people with moderate to severe and treatment-resisitent complex conditions, the current 10 treatment sessions available under Better Access is not adequate.
“There is strong evidence that some people with mental health disorders require more than 10 treatment sessions per year. Providing adequate treatment to people who need it must be a priority.
“A revised approach is needed to ensure Australians can access the care they need,” she said.
The MBS Mental Health Reference Group (MHRG) has made recommendations for changes to allow case-conferencing between psychologists and other care providers. Ms Knight said the APS had strongly supported this recommendation.
The APS recently released a Green Paper to its members, recommending changes to the Better Access scheme that would enable consumers to access a greater number of sessions with a psychologist if their severity of mental illness warranted it.
The recommendations in the Green Paper align with the Australian Government’s ‘stepped care’ model of mental health care, in that they seek to ensure that consumers get the right care at the right time according to their level of need.
