Les programmes de prise en charge financière des psychothérapies en Australie et en Angleterre

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L’article décrit les programmes de prise en charge financière des psychothérapies en Australie et en Angleterre.Au début des années 2000, le gouvernement australien a implanté une réforme de santé publique visant à permettre un meilleur accès, gratuit ou peu coûteux, aux psychothérapies brèves, en soin primaire, pour les personnes souffrant de troubles mentaux courants. Cette réforme reconnaît l’importance du rôle du médecin généraliste dans la prise en charge des troubles, et la collaboration avec les professionnels de santé mentale. Deux programmes ont été mis en oeuvre : Access to Allied Psychological Services en 2003 et Better Access en 2006. En 2009, deux millions d’Australiens ont reçu onze millions de séances de psychothérapies. Les études ont montré des résultats positifs sur l’amélioration de l’accès aux soins de santé mentale primaires et sur la santé des patients.L’Angleterre a mis en place le programme Improving Access to psychological Therapies en 2007 en offrant un service de psychothérapies brèves pour les personnes souffrant de troubles mentaux courants. Le modèle de soin en étape suit les guides cliniques du National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence, le type de professionnel (counselor ou psychothérapeute formés), le nombre de séances (4 à 13) et la méthode thérapeutique varient selon la sévérité du trouble. Un million de patients ont été traités depuis le début du programme. Les études ont aussi montré des résultats de santé positifs pour les patients du programme. En conclusion les programmes de prise en charge des psychothérapies s’avèrent coûts-efficaces.

Quebec’s HealthCommissioner on the performance of the health system clearly highlighted gaps in the collaboration between primary care physicians and mental health specialists, decreased accessibility and inequity in access to effective mental health services such as psychotherapy.Objectives The aim of this article was to describe the implementation of two publicly funded programs of psychotherapy in Australia and England with similar gatekeeper systems to the one in Quebec.Findings Following the Access to Allied Psychological Services (ATAPS) program introduced in Australia in 2003, one of the most important initiatives from the Council of Australian Governments’ National Action Plan on Mental Health 2006-2011 was the Better Access Initiative which commenced in 2006. The plan included AUD1.2 billion in funding for integrating and improving the mental health care system. The purpose of Better Access was to improve the treatment and management of mental illnesses and increasing community access to mental health professionals and providing more affordable mental health care. GPs were encouraged to work more closely with mental health professionals. Under this program, these professionals are able to provide mental health services on a fee-for-service basis subsidized through Medicare. Access to psychological therapies is provided through private providers, rather than through fund holding arrangements. As of 2009 in Australia, 2 million people (1 in 11) had received over 11.2 million subsidized mental health services. A recent study showed clinical improvements in patients with depression associated with Better Access, concluding that the program is meeting previously unmet mental health needs.In the case of England, the IAPT – Improving Access to psychological Therapies-program enabled primary care trusts (PCTs) to implement evidence-based psychological therapies as recommended by National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence for people suffering from depression and anxiety. In October 2007, the Secretary of State for Health announced additional funds totalling £173 million between 2008 and 2011 that would be used to deliver a major training program that would build a skilled workforce of qualified psychological therapists in 4 therapy areas for adults and children: cognitive behaviour therapy; psychodynamic psychoanalytic therapy; systemic and family therapy; humanistic therapy. The main goals of the program were to have: (i) 3,600 newly trained therapists with an appropriate skill mix and supervision arrangements; (ii) 900,000 more people treated; (iii) 50% of people who leave treatment are recovered; (iv) 25,000 fewer people on sick pay and benefits.Conclusion To date, the results in both countries have shown clinical improvements in symptoms associated with depression and anxiety for people entering the programs and at a population level, decreasing the unmet mental health needs of the population by allowing self-referrals to the program, and therefore rendering access to services to populations otherwise not reached.