Australian mental health spend reaches $9 billion

The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare’s (AIHW) report, Mental health services in Australia, has revealed a substantial rise in Australia’s overall spending on mental health over the past two-plus decades, from $2.9 billion in 1992–93 to $9 billion in 2015–16. This equates to close to $373 per person, up from $354 per person in 2011–12.
 
Using data from Bettering the Evaluation and Care of Health (BEACH) study, the report also found a 4.7% average annual increase in the number of mental-health related GP consultations since 2011–12. Mental health-related consultations with GPs across Australia numbered slightly less than 18 million in 2015–16, or 12.4% of all GP encounters. However, only 3.2 million Medicare-subsidised mental health-specific services were provided by GPs in the same period.
 
The AIHW report concluded this gap occurred because not all mental health-related consults were billed using specific mental health-related Medicare Benefits Schedule (MBS) item numbers.
 
The AIHW figures largely underscore findings in the RACGP’s General practice: Health of the nation 2017 report that mental health is the issue causing GPs the most concern for the future, and an area of health policy issue that should be prioritised for action by the Federal Government.
 
RACGP President Dr Bastian Seidel previously told newsGP of the pressing need for further support for the management of mental health conditions in general practice.
 
‘The health and funding issues … must be crucially addressed,’ he said. ‘We have to be asking our patients, are you okay? And if we want a genuine dialogue and therapeutic conversations with our patients, we can’t do this in six minutes.

‘It has to be properly funded.’

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