Poor people with mental illness rarely asks for treatment

Australia's health industry which focuses on the mental health sector received some good news regarding GP visits.

The West Australian study showed that people with mental illness made 1.6 GP trips for every visit from those in the general population.

Dr. Qun Mai from the University of Western Australia found out that people who use mental health services has visited their GP's more than those non-users, contrary to what they have hypothesized before.

Those with more severe mental illness visited GPs more often than those with less severe mental illness (and) the results were similar in metropolitan, rural or remote areas. Dr. Mai said.

However, those poor and homeless people with mental health issues were exempted since Dr. Mai and her team found out that they seldom visit their GP at all.

Further work is required to assess the need for outreach programs to deliver primary care to homeless people with mental illness,

Even though their findings are deemed to be useful, the team thinks that people who rely solely to their GPs to provide treatment and care may be insufficient.

Policies focusing on how to improve the quality and preventative value of existing contacts between patients with mental illness and their GPs may be a more fruitful approach. Dr. Mai said.