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Australia’s mental health-care system is struggling to cope with the demand. But more money won’t necessarily mean everyone gets the care they need. As we outline in research out this week , we need to incentivise health providers to improve outcomes rather than paying them to do more of the same.

The research, which was funded by the Australian government’s National Mental Health Commission , outlines why such reform is needed and how it might work. Many Australians with mental ill health cannot access care when needed, due to long waiting lists and high patient costs. Almost two-thirds of patients are waiting more than 12 weeks to receive care for their mental ill-health.



About one in five people reported cost was a reason for delaying or not seeing a mental health professional. Even when people do access care, this is often not evidence based, reducing the likelihood of becoming well quickly. For instance, nearly half of all encounters to treat depression are deemed inappropriate and consequently of low value.

There are also gaps in individual care pathways. For example, some people who present to hospital after a suicide attempt may not receive mental health care when they leave. People find it difficult to navigate mental health-care services within the community, which means people can fall through the cracks and do not receive the care they need.

This results in poorer health outcomes and use of expensive acute inpatient care, instead of cheaper community-based c.

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