Department of Health

Consumer outcomes in mental health services

Find out how Victoria leads in monitoring mental health outcomes to enhance consumer care and service quality.

Measuring the health outcomes of consumers in mental health services is critical to ensure that every consumer continually benefits from the treatment and care they receive.

Victoria has been a leader in the adoption and adaptation of world-leading consumer outcome measures that enable clinicians to monitor the progress of individual consumers, to engage consumers and carers in treatment decisions, and to ensure the continuing improvement of overall service quality.

Under the National Mental Health Plan, all clinical mental health services in Victoria must routinely submit consumer outcome ratings through a national collection protocol known as the National Outcomes and Casemix CollectionExternal Link (NOCC). The NOCC provides a coherent picture of mental health outcomes in each state and territory, which can be used to measure clinical effectiveness across different service sectors and age cohorts.

Note that consumer outcomes are distinct from the outcomes in the Mental Health and Wellbeing Outcomes and Performance Framework, which tracks the outcomes of the mental health and wellbeing system as a whole. Consumer outcomes are an important contributor to the Outcomes Framework, as they provide invaluable insight into the effectiveness of mental health and wellbeing services.

Measuring consumer outcomes in clinical mental health services

Consumer outcomes are regularly measured by public mental health services to ensure better results.

Mental health consumer outcome measures used in Victoria

A range of outcome measures are used to rate the mental health of people at key points of service delivery.

Measuring consumer outcomes - practice guide for clinicians

Victoria has been a national leader in the development of resources to help mental health clinicians measure and monitor the health outcomes of consumers, and ensure continuing improvements in service delivery.

Measuring consumer outcomes – assessments

Outcome measures form a central part of any assessment of a mental health consumer.

Measuring consumer outcomes – care plans

The collection of accurate and consistent consumer outcome measures is critical for the planning, implementation and review of care plans.

Measuring consumer outcomes – clinical reviews

All active consumers of clinical mental health services must have a clinical review at least once every 3 months.

Measuring consumer outcomes – documentation

Accurate documentation of consumer outcomes is vital for effective mental health care planning and monitoring.

Measuring consumer outcomes – policies and procedures

Internal policies and procedures on collecting and using consumer outcomes helps mental health services deliver effective treatment and care.

Reviewed 19 July 2024

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