Preparation

1. Assemble your QI/data team: Include clinical, admin, and IT staff.
2. Back up your database: Always back up before making bulk changes.
3. Ensure access to POLAR or equivalent audit tool: For reporting and cross-checks.
4. Review relevant guides:

• Best Practice  
• Medical Director Help

Step-by-step guide

Step 1: Identify Patients with a Mental Health Diagnosis

Best Practice Premier

• Use the Past History Cleanup tool to ensure all mental health diagnoses are coded (not free text).
• Go to Utilities > Past History Cleanup.
• Review and map free text entries to coded diagnoses.
• Use Search to find patients with a coded mental health diagnosis:
• Go to Utilities > Search > Patients.
• Set criteria for mental health diagnoses (e.g., depression, anxiety, bipolar, schizophrenia).
• Export or print the list for review.
• Best Practice  

Medical Director

• Ensure all diagnoses are coded:
• Go to Patient > Past History.
• Link or replace free text with a coded diagnosis.
• Use Search to find patients with a coded mental health diagnosis:
• From the main menu, click Search > Patients.
• Filter by diagnosis (e.g., depression, anxiety, bipolar, schizophrenia).
• Export or print the list for review.
• Medical Director

Step 2: Identify Patients Without a Mental Health Treatment Plan (MHTP)

Best Practice Premier

• Use the Search function to cross-check for patients with a mental health diagnosis but no MHTP:
• Go to Utilities > Search > Patients.
• Add criteria: “Mental health diagnosis” AND “No MHTP in past 12 months.”
• Use the “Not recorded” or “Missing” filter for MHTP item numbers.
• Export the list for clinical review.

Medical Director

• Use the Search function to cross-check for patients with a mental health diagnosis but no MHTP:
• Go to Search > Patients.
• Add criteria: “Mental health diagnosis” AND “No MHTP in past 12 months.”
• Use the “Not recorded” or “Missing” filter for MHTP item numbers.
• Export the list for clinical review.

Step 3: Clinical Review and Action

• Review the list with clinicians:
• Determine if each patient is eligible for an MHTP.
• Exclude patients with a recent plan or those not clinically indicated.
• Contact eligible patients:
• Invite for a review appointment to discuss and initiate an MHTP.
• Document actions:
• Record outcomes in the patient record.
• Update the register to reflect new or updated MHTPs.

Step 4: Monitor and Reflect

• Track the number of patients identified, contacted, and who received an MHTP.
• Use an audit worksheet (see below) to document baseline and post-intervention numbers.
• Reflect as a team: What worked? What could be improved for the next cycle?

Key Tips and Resources

• Better Access Initiative resources:
• Better Access Initiative Resource Collection
• Best Practice Premier:
• Best Practice  
• Medical Director:
• Search and Patient Database Clean-up
• POLAR
• Use POLAR reports to cross-check and validate your findings.
• For interventions and pathways when a patient does not require at least a moderate level of mental health support through Better Access can be found here: Publications | Australian Government Department of Health, Disability and Ageing

Summary table