iCOPE, a world-first digital perinatal mental health screening tool, is now available to all GPs, OBGYNs, hospitals and MCH clinics across the country. The Centre of Perinatal Excellence (COPE), Australia’s peak body for reducing the impacts of perinatal anxiety and depression, developed iCOPE to identify mums at risk, and facilitate faster and more effective mental health screening.
The app enables screening to be undertaken across all clinical settings, from in-person to remote screening via SMS. Patients can receive and complete the screen via text, the morning of their appointment, which saves precious consultation time, and lets the practitioner know ahead of time if their patient may require additional mental health support.
Almost all public maternal health services in our PHN are now using iCOPE to conduct regular perinatal mental health screening, and 95% of Victorian public maternity hospitals are now using iCOPE, as part of the Federal Government’s Perinatal Mental Health Check initiative. Almost 100,000 iCOPE screens have been conducted across the country, and this includes more than 25,000 screens in the private sector (OBGYNS and specialist GPs).
The iCOPE perinatal mental health screening tool is now available to all GPs, obstetricians, maternity hospitals and maternal and child health services in Australia. Call 1800 314 698 or visit www.icope.org.au for more information.