Department of Psychiatry, 213116University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC, Australia.
Institute for Mental and Physical Health and Clinical Treatment (IMPACT), Deakin University, Geelong, VIC, Australia.
Australas Psychiatry. 2022 Aug;30(4):526-529. doi: 10.1177/10398562221097869. Epub 2022 May 13.
The Better Health Access Initiative added 32 Medicare Benefits Schedule (MBS) item numbers in 2006 to increase the number of people with access to mental health care. We investigated trends in the provision of outpatient Medicare-subsidised psychiatric services since the introduction of these item numbers in 2006 through 2019.
Medicare Benefits Schedule aggregated item-number claims data were obtained from the Services Australia Medicare website, between January 2006 and December 2019 inclusive, for face-to-face psychiatrist consultations. Item number rates were collated and graphed per 100,000 population according to year and item number.
There has been an increase in the number of claims for new patient assessments (291-296) and a reduction in most ongoing care Medicare item numbers, especially longer appointments that are often associated with psychotherapy provision (306-308).
There have been changes in private psychiatric practice in Australia over the past 14 years. There are several possible causes for these changes and further research is required to determine the impact on patient care.
2006 年，“改善医保获取倡议”（Better Health Access Initiative）增加了 32 项医疗保险福利计划（Medicare Benefits Schedule，MBS）项目编号，以增加获得心理健康护理的人数。本研究旨在调查自 2006 年这些项目编号引入以来，2006 年至 2019 年期间，门诊医保补贴精神科服务的提供情况。
本研究通过澳大利亚服务局（Services Australia）医保网站，获取了 2006 年 1 月至 2019 年 12 月期间，面对面精神科医生就诊的医疗保险福利计划汇总项目编号索赔数据。根据年份和项目编号，对每 10 万人口的项目编号费率进行了整理和绘制。
新患者评估（291-296）的索赔数量有所增加，而大多数持续护理医保项目编号减少，尤其是与心理治疗提供相关的较长预约（306-308）。
在过去的 14 年中，澳大利亚私人精神病学实践发生了变化。这些变化可能有多种原因，需要进一步研究以确定其对患者护理的影响。
