FIRST YEAR OF PRACTICE VISITS FOR THE RURAL DEPRESSION ANXIETY RESEARCH AND TREATMENT GENERAL PRACTICE PROGRAM

Objective: To describe the first 12 months activities of a key component of a General Practice Psychiatry program– the GP practice visit. Design: Questionnaire to evaluate effects on participating general practitioners practice. Setting: Rural group general practices. Subjects: Thirty-two general practitioners in the Loddon Campaspe Southern Mallee region in Victoria. Interventions: Practice visits involved a combination of each of three key activities: primary consultation, secondary consultation and/or case discussion and formal teaching. Results: General practitioners reported a variety of changes in their practice as a result of the visits. Conclusion: Practice visits appear to be a useful means of influencing GP's practice. Further work is required to determine whether such changes are accompanied by demonstrable benefits in patient outcome.