The RACGP president has hit back at psychiatrist Professor Ian Hickie after he accused GPs of failing to adequately review the outcomes for patients with mental health care plans.

The claim by the one-time mental health commissioner is based on MBS data, which he says show 1.2 million claims for drawing up a mental health plan but just 440,000 for reviewing a plan in 2020/21.  

“Patients’ progress was largely unmonitored by their GPs,” he wrote in MJA InSight.

“Without monitoring, it is not possible to discern if a person’s mental health is improving or worsening and plan next steps appropriately.”