Mental Health

A global pandemic 

• 45% of the global population is at risk of severe brain-related disorders in their lifetimes, and 20% are reportedly suffering in any year, including Major Depression [7%] and Bipolar Disorder [1%]. 

• US$16 trillion cost burden globally due to mental disorders by 2030

• In Australia:

  -   Lost $500 Million per day in direct and indirect economic output.

  -   In 2017-18 psychologists and psychiatrists provided 8.0 Million subsidised mental health services. GPs provided 3.6 Million. 
  -   In 2016-17 18 Million GP visits included management of mental health related issue. 
  -   GPs, Psychiatrists and Psychologists have each year approximately 1,500,000 Medicare consultations and 4.3 Million prescriptions in respect of mental health care diagnosis and treatment plans, costing $10.6 billion in 2018-19.

• Neuroscience research in universities and centres of excellence are constrained on two fronts in their ability to both research and publish their outcomes by 
  -   the absence or cost of accessing objective methods to support or challenge subjective research evidence, and 
  -   the costs, with restricted access and limited usefulness of EEG, of other imaging technologies, such as fMRI, PET, MEG – where each of the latter has a capital cost of >$3 Million and measurement cost of >$500.

• Central Nervous System (CNS) Drug development by Pharma takes >15years, and costs >$2Bn per successful compound brought to market, although less than 85% of experimental compounds ever achieve this.    

  -   For example, over the last decade, there has been a 100% failure rate by Pharma developing Alzheimer's therapies, such that some major companies have now withdrawn from that market segment. 
  -   EVestG™ technology could reduce the costs and time of drug trials by up to 30% by ensuring trial targets do not have comorbidities.

• In 2020, occupational and modern living daily stress in time of COVID-19 has accelerates Mental Health issues in the Community by 25% to 33%.

Misdiagnosis – a Crisis of Care 

Clinical diagnosis is subjective, complex, slow, costly, unreliable and  is sometimes avoided.

• There is currently no low-cost, non-invasive, objective, and timely way of accurately diagnosing mental disorders or evaluating effectiveness of treatment.

• Clinical focus is presently more around care provision and harm reduction.

The present use of flawed subjective assessment methodology as the basis for diagnosis results, for example, in a misdiagnosis 50% to 60% on the first consultation re Major Depression/Bipolar and consequently prevents early intervention and effective treatment. 

This results in delays, increased costs, incorrect treatment, and personal tragedies.