Why day treatment?
In many cases, day treatment suits people better than being hospitalised over night. There are also many financial benefits to day treatment. There has been an international movement towards providing high quality mental health care through day services.
What is day treatment?
A traditional 'hospital' is where a patient will usually stay over night as an 'inpatient'. These hospitals will often also provide day treatment services to 'out-patients'. Day treatments occur within a given day, although a course of treatment may still continue for several days. This helps to reduce the costs associated will sleeping at the hospital facility.
What is an out-patient service?
Outpatient services are provided to people at health centres, clinics or hospitals on the basis that there is no hospital admission. The Medicare Benefits Schedule provides funding for many outpatient services so there are rebates available for services provided to patients.
Which service is right for me?
The main options for mental health treatments are:
- Outpatient consulting
- Day treatment
- Inpatient treatment
The starting point for all of these services is the General Practitioner. There are a number of options that the GP may provide. The GP may choose to conduct a brief mental health assessment and prescribe a medication and/or then refer you to see a specialist for further assessment and/or management.
Outpatient consulting provides a number of good options. To claim the maximum Medicare Benefit for mental health services, the GP must prepare a Mental Health Plan. This allows for up to 12 individual and 12 group sessions with an allied health professional. A GP or a Psychiatrist can refer to allied health/mental health professionals for the total 24 sessions.
