AAPi President Sahra O’Doherty’s opinion piece on the shortcomings of the proposed Medicare Mental Health Check In was published in the Sunday Herald Sun.
Sahra argued that many people experiencing mental ill health are unlikely to complete an additional check due to the nature of their condition, and that delays in access to care can have serious consequences. She highlighted that pushing people further down the system increases distress and often results in crisis becoming the point of entry to care, placing additional pressure on already overwhelmed emergency departments.
"Australia does not have a digital engagement problem. It has an access problem. People cannot afford to see psychologists early enough, often enough, or for long enough, to recover from what ails them."
She concluded by calling for a simple, evidence-based solution: properly funded access to psychologists, both in person and via telehealth, through Medicare.
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