Mental health screening tool for general practice
The StepCare Service is an integrated online mental health service for adults developed by the Black Dog Institute. StepCare supports GPs to provide timely, cost-efficient early intervention and treatment for patients 18 and over.
The StepCare Service supports GPs to assess and manage mental health in the same way that physical health is; through regular universal screening, monitoring and review. The StepCare Service provides GPs with the tools to:
- Identify adults with anxiety, depression and/or at-risk behaviours
- Recommend evidence-based stepped prevention, early intervention and treatment
- Link patients to a mental health care solution tailored to the severity of their symptoms
- Monitor patient progress, symptoms and treatment adherence, providing feedback to both patient and GP
- Patients are invited to complete a brief online screening assessment for anxiety, depression and alcohol use on a mobile tablet in the waiting room, results are received immediately
- Assessment results, treatment recommendations and conversational prompts are sent to the GP’s patient management software in real-time
- GP talks with patient about their assessment results and recommended treatment (if needed)
- Patient completes fortnightly online assessments via email or SMS for 18 weeks. Results are sent to both the patient and GP
- Patient’s treatment can be stepped by the GP if their condition deteriorates
Western NSW PHN is currently seeking Expression of Interests from general practices within Western NSW for the implementation of the StepCare Service within their practice.