Could ‘nurse navigators’ help the severely mentally ill?

Description

People with serious mental illness are dying much earlier than average from entirely preventable diseases, a situation a new policy aims to improve.

...They include integrating guidelines and shared care protocols between the RACGP and the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists (RANZCP) – a move that the colleges are in active discussions over.
 
‘[The] guidelines are reasonably aligned but implementation pathways need collaboration,’ Professor Mark Morgan, Chair of RACGP Expert Committee – Quality Care (REC–QC), told newsGP.
 
He co-authored a perspective article in the MJA supplement about the issue, in which he outlines the requirements for implementing the guidelines and protocols.
 
‘Investments are needed to support people with serious mental illness to be equally well,’ he wrote.

Subject

Serious mental illness

Co-morbidity

Health systems research

Health policy