Key Points:
- “In Australia, the role of primary care in the provision of mental health services is well-recognized as is the utility of integrating DMHSs into primary care frameworks. The Australian Government has funded and encouraged the uptake of DMHSs for several years, and recently committed to increasing funding for the sector”
- “The current study compares two Digital Mental Health Services (DMHSs) operating in Western Australia(WA)—The Practitioner Online Referral System (PORTS) and MindSpot. Both provide telephone and online psychological services at no cost to patients or referrers.”
- “PORTS is accessed by patients only via direct referral from a primary health care provider and is designed to provide support to people that are traditionally considered hard-to-reach due to financial, geographical, or another disadvantage. In contrast, MindSpot services are not restricted to specific cohorts, and patients do not require a referral to access services. This provides a unique opportunity to test whether DMHSs can successfully target different patient cohorts via different referral pathways”
- “Treatment outcomes were excellent for patients from both clinics. Results provide further evidence for the accessibility, acceptability, and effectiveness of DMHSs regardless of referral pathway or patient characteristics.
