Luke Sy-Cherng Woon, David Smith, David F Della, Jeffrey C L, Tarun Bastiampillai
{"title":"Seasonal Variations of Australian Medicare-Reimbursed Psychiatric Consultations Between 2016 and 2023: A Time Series Analysis.","authors":"Luke Sy-Cherng Woon, David Smith, David F Della, Jeffrey C L, Tarun Bastiampillai","doi":"10.4088/PCC.24m03898","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p><p><b>Objective:</b> In Australia, subsidized psychiatric consultation items in the Medicare Benefits Schedule (MBS) provide essential private psychiatric services. Seasonality in service utilization may affect health care planning. This study examined the seasonal patterns of overall MBS psychiatric consultations and MBS telehealth psychiatric consultations in pre- and postpandemic periods.</p><p><p><b>Methods:</b> Medicare Item Reports for face to-face and telehealth psychiatric items from 2016 to 2023 were retrieved and compiled. The quarterly time series for total (face-to-face and telehealth) and telehealth psychiatric consultations were analyzed descriptively, using the January-March quarter as the baseline. Linear regression analyses were performed to detect significant seasonal variations by gender and age groups. A sensitivity analysis of the impact of the post-COVID-19 increase in consultations on seasonality was also conducted.</p><p><p><b>Results:</b> A seasonal pattern was present for total consultations before and after the expansion of telehealth items in the first quarter of 2020. There were peaks in psychiatric consultations in July-September and troughs in January-March, except in patients ≥65 years old. Total consultations were significantly higher in April-June (<i>P</i> = .010) and July-September (<i>P</i> < .001) than in January-March. Seasonal variations were the largest among young patients aged 0-24 years. Seasonality was mostly unaffected by the increase in psychiatric consultations postpandemic. However, seasonality was absent for telehealth consultations.</p><p><p><b>Conclusion:</b> The seasonality of MBS psychiatric consultations, which was more prominent in young people, may have a practical impact on psychiatric service planning. The lack of seasonal variation in telehealth consultations and its relationship to emergency presentations warrant further research.</p><p><p><i>Prim Care Companion CNS Disord 2025;27(3):24m03898</i>.</p><p><p>\n <i>Author affiliations are listed at the end of this article.</i>\n </p>","PeriodicalId":22814,"journal":{"name":"The primary care companion for CNS disorders","volume":"27 3","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0000,"publicationDate":"2025-05-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"The primary care companion for CNS disorders","FirstCategoryId":"1085","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.4088/PCC.24m03898","RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":null,"ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q4","JCRName":"Medicine","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Objective: In Australia, subsidized psychiatric consultation items in the Medicare Benefits Schedule (MBS) provide essential private psychiatric services. Seasonality in service utilization may affect health care planning. This study examined the seasonal patterns of overall MBS psychiatric consultations and MBS telehealth psychiatric consultations in pre- and postpandemic periods.
Methods: Medicare Item Reports for face to-face and telehealth psychiatric items from 2016 to 2023 were retrieved and compiled. The quarterly time series for total (face-to-face and telehealth) and telehealth psychiatric consultations were analyzed descriptively, using the January-March quarter as the baseline. Linear regression analyses were performed to detect significant seasonal variations by gender and age groups. A sensitivity analysis of the impact of the post-COVID-19 increase in consultations on seasonality was also conducted.
Results: A seasonal pattern was present for total consultations before and after the expansion of telehealth items in the first quarter of 2020. There were peaks in psychiatric consultations in July-September and troughs in January-March, except in patients ≥65 years old. Total consultations were significantly higher in April-June (P = .010) and July-September (P < .001) than in January-March. Seasonal variations were the largest among young patients aged 0-24 years. Seasonality was mostly unaffected by the increase in psychiatric consultations postpandemic. However, seasonality was absent for telehealth consultations.
Conclusion: The seasonality of MBS psychiatric consultations, which was more prominent in young people, may have a practical impact on psychiatric service planning. The lack of seasonal variation in telehealth consultations and its relationship to emergency presentations warrant further research.
Prim Care Companion CNS Disord 2025;27(3):24m03898.
Author affiliations are listed at the end of this article.
期刊介绍：
Founded in 1998, The Primary Care Companion for CNS Disorders (ISSN 2155-7780), formerly The Primary Care Companion to The Journal of Clinical Psychiatry, is an international, peer-reviewed, online-only journal, and its articles are indexed by the National Library of Medicine. PCC seeks to advance the clinical expertise of primary care physicians and other health care professionals who treat patients with mental and neurologic illnesses. PCC publishes research from disciplines such as medicine, nursing, pharmacy, and psychology, especially as it pertains to integrated delivery systems and interdisciplinary collaboration. PCC focuses on providing information of direct clinical utility and giving a voice to clinician researchers. Practice-based research from individuals and groups with clinical expertise is particularly welcome. Pertinent manuscript types include: -Original research -Systematic reviews -Meta-analyses -Case reports and series -Commenting letters to the editor Articles published in PCC typically cover attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, depression, bipolar disorder, anxiety, addiction, sleep disorders, pain, Alzheimer’s disease, multiple sclerosis, and Parkinson’s disease.
求助内容：
应助结果提醒方式：
京公网安备 11010802042870号
