The Initial Assessment and Referral Decision Support Tool (IAR-DST) is a platform to help referrers find the best care for patients. The tool uses eight assessment domains to estimate the service patients require across five levels of care. Combined with clinical judgement, this standardised, evidence-based model, can help ensure that patients are connected to the most appropriate local care.
Accessing IAR-DST Training
Our dedicated IAR team run free weekly training sessions for GPs, general practice staff, clinicians, and other mental health service providers in Western Sydney. During the two-hour training session, the team will support you in understanding; the purpose of IAR-DST, the eight Initial Assessment Domains, the five levels of care, how to use the tool and the types of mental health services that correspond with each level.
We offer online and in-person training sessions. To register for a regular online workshop visit the Our West Sydney training platform. We encourage general practices with four or more GPs to book a whole-of-practice training session which can be arranged for a time that suits your team, either during the day or evening as a face-to-face or online session. Sessions can be arranged by emailing our IAR-DST team at iar@wentwest.com.au
GPs who attend IAR-DST training are eligible for Continuing Professional Development (CPD) points from the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP). GPs and GP registrars will receive a $300 reimbursement for completing the training.
Why Use the Tool?
IAR-DST is designed to complement existing mental health tools and assessments and create a standardised language for discussing patient mental health need between GPs, practice staff and mental health providers. 374 health professionals in Western Sydney have taken part in training so far, and many more are already using the IAR-DST to support them with mental health pathways.
So, what do our local GPs have to say?
“This is going to change my patients’ mental health care management significantly. It also gave me a much better understanding of the services available, which I did not know before.”
“It’s a very useful and user-friendly system. Should be encouraged to use by all GPs.”
“Trainer [is] well-informed and explained IAR in a clear and simple way. The group activity to do the assessment together was very helpful and I can see from others perspective why they chose different domains. I feel more confident to use IAR after the training. Love the training and how it is structured!”
Information is correct as of 7 March 2024.