Telephone mental health triage and case management — Outcome data from the first two years of operation of the greater Murray accessline

Abstract

Objectives: To provide an overview of the service delivery model and provide outcome data for a rural mental health triage and case management programme. Implications for other mental health services will be discussed.Methods: Naturalistic data collection and analysis. Service utilization, sociodemographic, illness variables, consumer and provider satisfaction and financial implications have been analyzed.Results: Over 25,000 telephone contacts occurred during the study period. Approximately 40% were triage calls with the remainder representing telephone case management. All diagnostic groups used the service. Aboriginal utilization by population was higher than expected, (12%). 95% of consumers rated the service satisfactory or higher. A trend was observed to reduced use of hospital resources. The study confirmed international trends on the value and cost effectiveness of protocol based triage and technology driven healthcare delivery.