A Hub-and-Spoke Model for Medicare Mental Health.

Medicare Mental Health (formerly Head to Health) is a national initiative that helps people access trusted, no-cost mental health services matched to their needs. Primary Health Networks (PHNs) play a critical role in coordinating these services to ensure timely access to care and reduce barriers caused by fragmented referral processes.

In New South Wales, three PHNs—Hunter New England & Central Coast PHN (HNECC), Healthy North Coast PHN (HNC) and Murrumbidgee PHN (MPHN)—collaborated to design a consistent, region-ready digital intake and referral pathway.

Consultmed’s technology provided the digital infrastructure to create a central hub for intake and triage, capturing structured referral data through customised eReferral forms embedded with IAR-DST logic.

In parallel, the PHNs commissioned Amplar Health to operate the central hub. Amplar receives all referrals submitted through Consultmed, conducts initial clinical assessments using the IAR-DST, and then connects consumers with the most appropriate commissioned service within each PHN’s network of local mental health providers (the spokes).

This co-designed model created a clear, replicable pathway that integrates technology, clinical triage, and regional commissioning.

“Managing a State-wide Mental Health intake service comes with the challenge of working with multiple operating systems used by referrers. Consultmed has enabled a more streamlined and secure workflow for our team to connect the community to the right care at the right time, with the provider of their choice. It is an easy to learn, user friendly system.”
– Nicci Tepper, Mental Health Operations Manager

The Hub and Spoke Model 

• Submission via integration: GPs and other care providers can create Medicare Menta Health referrals directly from their practice management system (e.g. Best Practice, MedicalDirector); demographics and clinical notes pre-populate to avoid re-typing.
• Public web portal: Consumers, carers and clinicians can also submit via a web portal; all submissions land in Consultmed for intake and triage.
• Central intake (Referral Hub): Amplar Health clinicians conduct initial clinical triage on behalf of each PHN, using IAR-DST inputs captured at submission to guide stepped-care decisions.
• Initial Assessment and Referral Decision Support Tool (IAR-DST)-aligned capture: Customised Consultmed eReferral forms embed IAR-DST domains and logic to standardise severity assessment and the recommended level of care.

• Allocation to appropriate services (Referral Spokes): Amplar Health staff then on-refer the consumer using Consultmed’s forward functionality to the most appropriate treating facility or commissioned provider (e.g., Hunter Primary Care and other local MMH services).
• Two-way secure communication: Referral acknowledgements, status updates and Advice & Guidance keep referrers and consumers informed and close the loop.
• Outcome back to the referrer: The final assessment and outcome of the referral are delivered back to the referring clinician through Consultmed, ensuring they remain connected and updated on the consumer’s care journey.

Collaborative pathways, scaled impact.

This initiative represents a highly collaborative effort between PHNs, Amplar Health, and Consultmed. By using Consultmed’s technology, the PHNs have demonstrated how a state-wide hub-and-spoke model of care can be delivered: centralising intake, redirecting referrals to the correct commissioned services, better connecting their GPs through integrations to PMS, applying structured IAR-DST assessments, and eliminating duplication. The model works seamlessly across regional boundaries, ensuring consistency for general practice and improving access for consumers no matter where they enter the system.

The hub-and-spoke pathway has already shown significant results. In its first year, more than 7,000 referrals were submitted and processed digitally via the hub. Referrals are now triaged consistently using the IAR-DST, administrative workload for general practice has been reduced through pre-populated forms and automated updates, and providers are receiving complete intake information upfront, which has shortened the time to care. Referrers also benefit from secure, two-way communication, ensuring that the loop is closed once a patient is connected with a service.

Importantly, the model has demonstrated scalability. South Eastern NSW PHN is now joining the program, and multiple other PHNs have expressed interest in adopting the same approach.

Building on this momentum, the PHNs and their partners are now advancing several priorities. Planning is underway to integrate Consultmed’s eReferrals with the national Primary Mental Health Clinical Information System (PMHCIS), led by North Western Melbourne PHN. This integration will streamline reporting requirements, enhance data quality, and provide a more complete view of referral activity across the country.

At the same time, the PHNs are broadening their use of Consultmed’s directory functionality, which enables services to be clearly collated and categorised. This will strengthen connections between providers, improve visibility of both commissioned and community services, and make it easier for clinicians to identify and refer consumers to the right care.

With additional PHNs preparing to join, and others actively exploring the model, this hub-and-spoke approach is positioned to become the standard for mental health intake and referral across the country.

You can view how the PHN referral portals are set up here, linking to the Central Referral Hub for intake:

Hunter New-England and Central Coast PHN
Healthy North Coast PHN
Murrumbidgee PHN (Central Access and Navigation Service)

Learn more about Medicare Mental Health here.