As the social and technological landscape evolves in Australia and leads to a more open conversation about mental health issues, as well as the prevalence of these issues amongst the younger generations, the front lines of healthcare needs to be prepared to deal with these changes. Luckily, the RACGP’s General Practice Mental Health Standard Collaboration (GPMHSC) have developed a Mental Health Training Standards 2020-22 guide to help with the transition.
The new standards which have now been launched aim to deliver knowledge to education providers about the specifics of how to develop an accredited CPD course.
Specifically for General Practitioners the standards have been provisioned around the GPs ability to use their Medicare Benefits Schedule (MBS) specific to providing frontline mental health care, and their requirements to access MBS item numbers through the Better Access initiative.
The standards have been setup to be a comprehensive overview of what needs to be done, implemented by who and how to get the process of delivering mental health advice started.
The best way for a GP to attain this type of education is to reach out to a CPD provider who is proving mental health courses either online or face-to-face.
‘There is greater awareness in the community about mental health, and the stigma about talking to a doctor and getting help is gradually diminishing,’ a GPMHSC representative said, ‘The RACGP’s recent 2019 General Practice: Health of the Nation report found that 65% of surveyed GPs identified mental health is the most common issue they manage.’
If you are a General Practitioner, and wish to be prepared for the current and future state of healthcare, make sure to view the standards and/or attend a mental health CPD course.
Source: RACGP // Image: CC-BY-00
