New decision support tool to help you connect your patients with the right mental health support, quickly.
The Initial Assessment and Referral (IAR) is a decision support tool, to assist GPs (and other referrers) to find the most suitable level of care for patients, which can then be used to determine the appropriate service for the patient, at a local level. It provides a standardised, evidence-based and objective approach to assist with mental health care recommendations.
The IAR guides clinicians to consider what information needs to be collected from patients, to conduct a patient-centred and holistic assessment.
Considerations include the availability of informal support (like family), life circumstances that may be impacting your patient, co-existing conditions, and the patient’s motivation to access supports. The information gathered is then used to recommend a service type and level of care (level of intensity) to help inform a referral decision made by the GP.
Your clinical judgement, combined with the IAR decision support tool, will ensure the person seeking support is directed to the most appropriate care – no matter where they sit along their recovery journey.
Using this support tool will help improve the efficiency of the mental health consultation, by streamlining the collection of relevant information.
The IAR can also be found in the RediCASE eReferral form, which can be integrated with Best Practice and Medical Director software. The RediCASE eReferral form is also available as an e-link however it does not have the full integration functionality.
The IAR is being progressively introduced across federal and state mental health services. Widespread uptake of the IAR means there will be consistency in the approach to assessment, referrals and service provision across the sector.
The IAR tool supports the stepped care approach to service delivery, which helps match people to the most appropriate services for their mental health needs.
The stepped care model comprises a continuum of interventions based on levels of resource intensity – from least to most intensive – matched to the individual’s needs. This approach also allows people to move easily between local services as their support needs change.
Brisbane North PHN is now holding training sessions to help general practitioners and GP Registrars understand how to use the IAR decision support tool. The training will provide you with all the information you need to use the tool in a way that suits your practice. IAR-DST training is not mandatory.
GPs and GP Registrars have the option to attend regional training delivered by Brisbane North PHN or national training delivered by the National IAR-DST Project Manager. The training objectives and outcomes are identical.
Brisbane North PHN training will have information about local referral pathways and service providers, and the RediCASE eReferral tool.
Workshop 1 (pre-reading)
Visit the course landing page by using the following URL https://www.openlearning.com/national-iar-training/courses/iar-workshop-one-bnphn
Click the orange 'Join now' button.
Enter your email, password and full name.
In the pop-up, enter the access code: iar-workshop-one-bnphn_pxbrjuvijjwkorjq and click 'Join now' again.
If the access code doesn't work, check there is not an extra space after the last digit of the code. A space is sometimes automatically added when copy/pasting, and this will prevent the code from working.
Complete the registration form.
Workshop 2
Register for one session. Please do not register for Workshop 2 until you have completed Workshop 1.
Wednesday 19 April 7.00 pm - 8.30 pm Register here
Friday 28 April 12.30 pm - 2.00 pm Register here
Thursday 4 May 6.00 pm - 7.30 pm Register here
Thursday 11 May 7.00 pm - 8.30 pm Register here
Thursday 18 May 7.00 am - 8.30 am Register here
Wednesday 24 May 6.00 pm - 7.30 pm Register here
Friday 2 June 12.30 pm - 2.00 pm Register here
Wednesday 7 June 7.00 pm - 8.30 pm Register here
Thursday 15 June 7.00 am - 8.30 am Register here
Friday 23 June 12.30 pm - 2.00 pm Register here
Thursday 29 June 7.00 pm - 8.30 pm Register here
Weekend sessions
Saturday 13 May 10.00 am - 11.30 am Register here
Saturday 13 May 2.00 pm - 3.30 pm Register here
Sunday 14 May 10.30 am - 12.00 pm Register here
Sunday 14 May 1.30 pm - 3. 00 pm Register here
Further training dates will be available throughout the year.
The national IAR DST training is workshops 1 and 2 combined so no self-paced webinar. GPs and GP Registrars who attend the national training will receive an email with Brisbane North PHN specific resources so they will not miss out.
Tuesday 21 March 12.00 pm - 2.30 pm Register here
Saturday 25 March 8.00 am - 10.30 am Register here
Please contact Jess at iar@brisbanenorthphn.org.au or on 07 3490 3484 if you have any questions about the IAR-DST or the IAR-DST training.
Brisbane North PHN acknowledges Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders as the first people of Australia and we pay our respects to the Traditional Custodians on whose land we walk, we work and we live.