The IAR Guidance and Decision Support Tool (IAR-DST) is an Australian Government Department of Health and Aged Care initiative.

The IAR Guidance provides support to clinicians regarding how to respond to people when they first ask for mental health support in primary care settings. It guides clinicians in considering what information should be collected during a mental health assessment.

The objectives of the IAR Guidance and IAR-DST are:

• A person seeking mental health assistance has their experiences understood in the context of holistic assessment domains (the 8 domains). The 8 domains help distil essential assessment information and amplify key signals (e.g., red flags) critical for decision-making.
• A person’s treatment needs are aligned to a suitable intervention intensity based on the least intensive and least intrusive evidence-based intervention that will likely lead to the most significant possible gain (the 5 levels of care). The approach is designed to minimise the risks that arise through under-servicing (poor outcomes) and over-servicing (unnecessary burden of care for the individual).
• To provide a nationally consistent decision support tool to guide, but not replace, clinical judgement and consumer choice (the IAR-DST).

The workshop will focus on:

1. Introduction to IAR and the development of the National Guidance.
2. Orientation to the domains, levels of care, and decision support tool.
3. Clinical judgement and supported decision-making.
4. Application of the IAR in referral, assessment, and intake settings (practical activity using vignettes).

Learning Outcomes:

• Participants are familiar with the principles underpinning the national approach to stepped care.
• Participants have an awareness of and confidence in the IAR development process.
• Participants can apply the IAR Guidance in practice settings, using the domains and the decision support tool to generate a recommended level of care.
• Participants understand the Levels of Care and can determine regional services matched against the levels of care.
• Participants understand the principles of clinical decision-making and consumer choice and can practice following these principles and using supported decision-making strategies.

The first component of the workshop focuses on an introduction and orientation to stepped care, the initial assessment and referral process and the decision support tool. The second component of the workshop is a practical activity focusing on a consumer vignette.

GPs are able to self-report to RACGP for CPD hours.

Upon completing training, GPs and GP registrars are eligible to receive a one-off incentive payment of $300 (GST excl.)* GCPHN will contact you on the email used to register for national training once completed to provide local information and an invoice template.

*Payment is not available for other medical staff or clinicans. Payment not available for GPs already paid for their time by a Commonwealth funded service (e.g Adult Mental Health Centre, Aboriginal Medical Service) unless GP is attending training outside of their paid employment hours.

Register here