The Patient Journey Kit

The Patient Journey Kit1: Transfer of stable public clinic opioid dependent patients to GP prescribers

Have a look at this kit developed by a statewide advisory group to provide information specifically for General Practitioners working with other professionals and users to develop care plans for the management of opioid dependent clients.

What makes this Sydney South West Area Health Service NSW Health publication different is it provides a series of hyperlinks to other websites documents and internet connections throughout the document to other resources.  It has a series of 'Go to Steps' which make it a dynamic tool for the NSW practitioner.

Then check out Kit 2, which is about comorbidity.

The Patient Journey Kit2: Supporting GPs to manage comorbidity in the community.

This second kit also authored by Dr Adam Winstock and Dr Jill Moylan, follows the same format.  It is dedicated to Comorbidity and is well worth a read.  The authors have adapted a Decision Pathway page 16, from the Can Do Initiative when considering referral pathways for co-occurring mental health and substance use disorders. 

Additionally, this document provides clarity around the development of the GP Mental Health Care Plan (GPMHCP) and identifies how GPs are able to access the Better Access to Mental Health Care an initiative introduced in November 2006 by the Commonwealth Government to provide GPs with the means to address the clinical problem of comorbid mental health and substance.  It further outlines the specific requirements to claim the Medicare item numbers, including assessment and care planning stages.

This is a must read for those agencies who want to establish referral pathways for their clients and partnerships with GPs.  In some instances, a Medicare fee is payable to agencies involved in the development of a Mental Health Care Plan when working in partnership with a GP Item 2710.

Even better "This work is copyright. It may be reproduced freely in whole or in part for use in clinical settings or patient service delivery areas. It may be reproduced in whole or in part for study or training purposes subject to the inclusion of an acknowledgement of the source. It may not be reproduced for commercial usage or sale.© NSW Health 2007"