Australasian psychiatry : bulletin of Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists
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Australas Psychiatry · Dec 2004
Towards a needs based mental health resource allocation and service development in rural and remote Australia.
To develop a transparent, needs-based mental health resource allocation framework to guide area level service planning in rural and remote settings. ⋯ The framework described provides the beginnings of more open and transparent evidence-based decision-making regarding mental health resource allocation and service development for rural and remote residents.
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Australas Psychiatry · Sep 2004
Partnerships between academic psychiatry and the pharmaceutical industry: the Lilly MAP Initiative.
To examine the relationship between academic psychiatry and the pharmaceutical industry, focusing on a partnership between academics in Melbourne and Eli Lilly and Company (Lilly Melbourne Academic Psychiatry). ⋯ Relationships between the pharmaceutical industry and the medical profession (including psychiatry) are under scrutiny as never before. Despite the complex nature of the relationship, the present paper argues that partnerships with external corporations such as pharmaceutical companies are of increasing importance for academic departments of psychiatry and research institutes, in environments in which core funding for tertiary institutes is being reduced. The partnership between Melbourne psychiatric academics and Eli Lilly and Company shows that benefits accrue to both parties, and suggests that there is a worthwhile place for other industry- academic collaborations of a similar nature in Australia.
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Australas Psychiatry · Sep 2004
The psychological impact of September 11 terrorism on Australian inpatients.
To investigate the psychological impact on Australian hospital patients of the media coverage of the September 11 (9/11) terrorist attack. ⋯ Clinical impressions were confirmed, namely, that a large proportion of hospital inpatients were adversely affected by TV footage of the 9/11 terrorist attack. Most vulnerable were those already with a mental disorder, particularly those with a pre-existing psychotic illness.
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Australas Psychiatry · Sep 2004
Audit of antipsychotic prescribing in a private psychiatric hospital.
There exists a substantial and growing body of evidence suggesting that antipsychotic medications are efficacious in the treatment of many non-psychotic psychiatric disorders. Although indications for the use of antipsychotics (particularly the atypicals) remain relatively narrow in Australia, psychiatrists seem to be using them for an expanding range of disorders in a variety of clinical settings. This has raised issues of cost-effectiveness and methods of funding of these medications. The present study aimed to quantify and describe the patterns of prescribing of antipsychotic medications in a large private psychiatric hospital. Another aim was to compare the findings with other published evidence, and consider the implications of antipsychotic use for current clinical practice in Australia. ⋯ Antipsychotic medications were widely used in a private psychiatric inpatient setting for the treatment of non-psychotic disorders. This finding parallels those from other Australian studies of psychotropic prescribing patterns. The issues of clinical utility, cost-effectiveness and benefits of funding of these medications for such wider indications require further study and evaluation.