At the beginning of last year, Doctors’ Health South Australia undertook a comprehensive program evaluation. The program is unique in offering multiple services for doctors to access care; in addition to the 24/7 phone line staffed by on-call doctors, the program also offers an after-hours in-person clinic for doctors to attend, an outreach service to deliver care to rural and remote doctors, and education and networking events.
Drawing on data from 2019-2025 from over 2,700 patient consultations across these services, the evaluation showed the importance of providing a holistic model of care for doctors. One stand-out metric was that over 50% of all consultations concerned physical health issues, challenging the perception that doctors’ health only involves mental health and substance use issues.
The data also showed that doctors tended to present with multiple issues, particularly those in rural and remote communities, highlighting the clinical complexity of working in this space. Across its services, the program delivered just over 1,300 referrals to doctor-patients for specialists, other GPs, and allied health, supporting doctors to engage with the healthcare system.
Many doctors engaging with the service also intended to engage more with their regular GP, or to build an ongoing relationship with a GP. The evaluation data demonstrate the need for specialised services within this complex area to help doctors overcome the barriers they face when accessing the holistic healthcare they both need and deserve.
For any questions about this evaluation, please contact Dr Shaun Prentice at drshaunprentice@outlook.com.
Editor’s note: Thank you to Dr Prentice for his generous time in preparing this article and to Doctors’ Health SA and Doctors’ Health NT for giving permission for this information to be published. More details and a copy of the summary report are here.