Inequalities in the regional distribution of private psychiatric services provided under Medicare

An analysis was carried out on Medicare data to find out if there are inequalities in the geographical distribution of private psychiatric services in Australia. The number of psychiatric services and persons becoming patients per 100,000 population was calculated for each federal electorate for the year 1985/86 and related to social indicators derived from the 1986 census. As a comparison, services provided by consultant physicians were analyzed as well. The data were based on the electorate of the patient rather than the electorate of the practitioner. Consultant psychiatrist services were found to be received more often in high socio-economic status electorates and those with older populations, and less often in rural areas. A similar pattern was found for consultant physician services, although the relationship with socio-economic status was not as strong. Frequent psychiatric consultations of longer duration, which are an indicator of insight psychotherapy, were more common in higher socioeconomic status electorates. A limitation of the Medicare data is that they cover only private services. To overcome this limitation, a supplementary analysis was carried out on the distribution of consultations for mental disorders using data from the National Health Survey. These data confirmed that individuals of high socio-economic status with a mental disorder are more likely to receive specialist treatment.