Medtech Global/Ultrasis/u2 Interactive USA.
New Zealand
Ultrasis and its partners, Medtech Global and Opening Doors, have just entered the third and final year of the contract with the Ministry of Health to provide BtB to all GP practices in New Zealand. The Ministry of Health has commenced a review of the initial outcomes of the service to help inform them prior to completion of the contract renewal process in late 2013.
The service delivered on Medtech's GP desktop portal "Manage my Health" has been well received since launch and proved an excellent and seamless way of patients completing their initial sign-on to BtB at the GPs surgery. The patient then has access and is ready to logon and start the program on return home.
In his address to the Australian National Suicide Prevention Conference in Sydney, Australia on 12 October 2012, the Hon Peter Dunne, Associate Minister of Health, spoke of the current suicide prevention initiatives and of the increased funding that has allowed greater access to talking therapies and co-ordinated packages of care for patients. Since February 2011, people with mild and moderate mental health problems have also been using e-therapy tools, such as the computerised cognitive behavioural therapy tool, BtB. In helping people in the primary care system we can ensure New Zealand nationals have the support they need early on.
Australia
In April 2012 the Department of Health and Ageing ("DoHA") announced its eMental Health strategy. This is intended to improve the availability of interventions for mental health for Australians, delivered via an online portal which would direct patients to the most appropriate intervention for their symptoms. DoHA put out a call for parties interested in being a provider, to submit their tenders by 15 May 2012. Ultrasis submitted a tender jointly with Medtech Global, following the successful program in New Zealand. Medtech already provides many GP practices in Australia with health records software to their desktops.
The results from the assessment of those applications were due to be announced and successful submissions confirmed by June 2012. This has now been delayed whilst DoHA analyse the levels of existing program expenditure and the extent to which this is either committed or uncommitted from the current budget. This means there will be a pause in this grant program and we await further updates.
AI
