The Medical journal of Australia
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Traditional clinic-based service delivery systems remain inaccessible to many Australians with mental health problems. If we are to substantially reduce the burden of mental illness, we need to develop more accessible, empowering and sustainable models of mental health care. E-health technologies have specific efficiencies and advantages in the domains of health promotion, prevention, early intervention and prolonged treatment. It is timely to use the best features of these technologies to start to build a more responsive and efficient mental health care system.
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Internet treatment programs for anxiety and depressive disorders are becoming available and offer cost-effective alternatives to face-to-face treatment with medication or cognitive behaviour therapy. The Clinical Research Unit for Anxiety and Depression at St Vincent's Hospital, Sydney, offers internet treatment courses at the VirtualClinic (http://www.virtualclinic.org.au) for people who meet diagnostic criteria for major depression, social phobia, panic disorder and generalised anxiety disorder. ⋯ The four treatment programs that have been successfully evaluated in the VirtualClinic have been made available on a not-for-profit basis ($5 service fee) at the CRUfADclinic (http://www.crufadclinic.org) for general practitioners and other clinicians to use with their patients. These programs could be the first level of treatment in a stepped-care environment, where patients who do not benefit sufficiently could then receive face-to-face treatment from their clinician or be referred for specialist treatment.