‘Shared Care – Shared Dream’: Model of shared care in rural Australia between mental health services and general practitioners

OBJECTIVE: To identify a working model between rural and remote mental health services and the local GPs in Australia. DESIGN: Postal questionnaire to assess the GPs' satisfaction level with the involvement of the mental health services in their ongoing management of mentally ill in the community. RESULT: There was a greater sense of satisfaction with the mental health services over the five years this program was implemented. CONCLUSION: This study offers a model on how a rural mental health service could enter into a shared care program with the local GP practice and achieve a greater level of satisfaction in serving the rural communities in Australia.