Improving access to mental health care: a system dynamics model of direct access to specialist care and accelerated specialist service capacity growth.

ABSTRACT:

Objective

To simulate the impact on population mental health indicators of allowing people to book some Medicare-subsidised sessions with psychologists and other mental health care professionals without a referral (direct access), and of increasing the annual growth rate in specialist mental health care capacity (consultations).

Design

System dynamics model, calibrated using historical time series data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics, HealthStats NSW, the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, and the Australian Early Development Census. Parameter values that could not be derived from these sources were estimated by constrained optimisation.

Setting

New South Wales, 1 September 2021 - 1 September 2028.

Main outcome measures

Projected mental health

SUBMITTER: Vacher C 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10952178 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature