IAR-DST

The Initial Assessment and Referral (IAR) Decision Support Tool (DST) provides primary healthcare with a nationally-consistent, evidence-informed, objective approach to initial assessment and referral of patients seeking mental health support.

The DST has been developed to address common challenges amongst referrers in determining the most appropriate level of mental health care and services required for patients. The tool collects ratings across 8 primary and contextual domains to determine the level of care required by an individual at that point in time.

The IAR-DST is an initiative of the Australian Department of Health and brings together information from a variety of sources including Australian and international evidence and advice from a range of leading experts.

The IAR-DST aims to:

• simplify how clinicians determine the care needs of a patient with mental health concerns
• prevent patients being overburdened with services they may not need or can cope with, or under-serviced with recommendations that may not meet their needs improve transparency on decisions made relating to referrals
• create consistency and a common language amongst health professionals, enabling them to articulate treatment needs that will be understood across the sector.

The IAR-DST:

• is a decision support tool designed to be used alongside a comprehensive mental health assessment, to guide referral and promote shared decision making and consumer choice
• collects data across four primary domains and four contextual domains (8 domains total), against which the referrer will provide a rating
• will recommend one of five levels of care after all domains have been rated.

Further detail on the eight domains and five levels of care can be found in the IAR documentation under “IAR Resources”.

The IAR-DST is NOT:

• an assessment tool
• diagnostic
• prognostic
• a replacement for clinical judgement

A comprehensive training package on how to use the IAR-DST is available to all GPs, GP registrars, practice nurses, mental health nurses, allied health professionals and anyone else working in the mental health space in the CESPHN region.

There are 2 options for delivery of the IAR-DST training:

1.Online – 2 parts (30 min + 90 min)

This option includes:

• Viewing of a 30 minute pre-recorded webinar (Workshop 1*) via Open Learning and completion of a post webinar survey. A link to this Workshop will be sent to you with your Workshop 2 registration confirmation.
• Attendance at a 90 minute live webinar (Workshop 2) and completion of a post workshop survey. Workshop 2 sessions are delivered on a variety of days and times via Zoom. You will be asked to read through a few case studies that may be used for the practical example in the workshop. These scenarios can be found  here.
• Completion of a follow up survey that will be emailed to you 3 months following Workshop 2

*please note that completion of Workshop 1 is a PRE-REQUSITE prior to attending workshop 2. Workshop 1 can be completed at any time within 6 months prior to attending Workshop 2

2. Online – 1 part (2 hours)

This option includes:

• Workshop 1 & 2 as described above, will be delivered in a single 2 hour session. These single workshops are delivered on a variety of days and times via zoom.
• There is no requirement to view the webinar before attending this training session. You will be asked to read through a few case studies that may be used for the practical example in the workshop. These scenarios can be found  here.
• You will also be required to complete a follow up survey that will be emailed to you 3 months following the training.

If you would like to attend a Face-to-Face training session please contact the IAR-DST team.

Eligible GPs will be paid $300 upon completion of the training and RACGP CPD hours are available.

Certificates of attendance provided to all attendees to claim relevant CPD hours.

Paid places for each training session are limited so get in quick!

Training sessions are Online – 1 part (2 hours) unless otherwise specified.

Upcoming workshop dates are below, click the date of your choice to be taken to the registration page.

April

Thursday 17th April 10.00am – 12:00pm AEST (morning)

Wednesday 23rd April 7.00pm – 9.00pm AEST (evening)

May

Thursday 1st May 12.00pm – 2.00pm AEST (lunchtime)

Wednesday 7th May 7.00pm – 9.00pm AEST (evening)

Wednesday 14th May 10.00am – 12.00pm AEST (morning)

Monday 19th May 7.00pm – 9.00pm AEST (evening)

Friday 30th May 10.00am – 12.00pm AEST (morning)

If there is not currently a date or time that suits you, please contact the IAR-DST team.

• Department of Health IAR Decision Support Tool
• Instructional video on how to use the IAR-DST
• IAR National Guidance v2.0
• IAR Summary Levels of Care v2.0
• IAR Quick Reference Guide
• IAR Adult Domains
• IAR Adult Training Scenario – William
• IAR Adult Training Scenario – Jessica
• IAR Older Adult Domains
• IAR Older Adult Training Scenario – Di
• IAR Older Adult Training Scenario – Ray
• IAR Adolescent Domains
• IAR Adolescent Training Scenario – Brandon
• IAR Adolescent Training Scenario – Reed
• IAR Child Domains
• IAR Child Training Scenario – Crystal
• IAR Child Training Scenario – Noah
• IAR Training Zoom Instructions