Abstract
General practice has an important role within the Australian healthcare system to provide access to care and effective management of chronic health conditions. However, people with serious mental illness experience challenges associated with service access. The current paper seeks to examine drivers of access to general practice for people with common and serious mental disorders, compared with people who access care for type II diabetes, a common physical health problem managed in general practice. The Bettering the Evaluation and Care of Health (BEACH) programme provides the most comprehensive and objective measurement of general practitioner activity in Australia. Using BEACH data, this study compared general practice encounters for depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, and type II diabetes during a 10-year period between 2006 and 2016. Analysis revealed more frequent encounters for depression compared to anxiety, and a higher representation of women in encounters for bipolar disorder compared to men. The relationship between number of encounters and patient age was strongly associated with the life course and mortality characteristics associated with each disorder. The findings highlight specific challenges associated with access to primary care for people with serious mental illness, and suggest areas of focus to improve the ability of these patients to access and navigate the health system.
Highlights
The performance of healthcare systems is underpinned by access, that is, the ease with which consumers of healthcare can access services appropriate to their needs [1]
Depression was managed at 4.5% of these encounters (n = 43,616), T2D was managed at 3.6% (n = 34,668), anxiety was managed at 2.1% (n = 20,657), schizophrenia was managed at 0.5% (n = 4,534), and bipolar disorder was managed at 0.3% of these encounters (n = 2,919)
This study aimed to investigate patterns of access to general practice for people with common mental disorders, serious mental illness and chronic physical illness
Summary
The performance of healthcare systems is underpinned by access, that is, the ease with which consumers of healthcare can access services appropriate to their needs [1]. There are many different conceptualisations of access in the health policy literature, and measuring access has been described as a ‘complex task’ involving multiple dimensions such as financial and physical accessibility, need, predisposing and enabling factors, availability, and quality [1].
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
