Pictured: Flinders Research team – Research associate Dr Lijun Zhao, Associate Professor Sahid Ullah, Dr Oliver Schubert, Professor Bidargaddi, Professor Elizabeth Lynch and Professor Sharon Lawn
Mental health care in South Australia is set for a major technology boost, with Flinders University securing $3 million in federal funding to develop an artificial intelligence platform that could help identify vulnerable patients before they reach crisis point.
Funded through the Australian Government’s Medical Research Future Fund (MRFF), the project will see researchers at the Flinders Digital Health Centre create AutoReview, an AI-powered system designed to support community mental health services by identifying gaps in patients’ mental, physical and social care.
The platform will analyse electronic health records against clinical care guidelines, flagging people who may need additional support and presenting healthcare teams with recommendations through an easy-to-use clinical dashboard.
The technology aims to address one of Australia’s biggest health challenges. Around 800,000 Australians are living with severe mental illness, with many dying up to 20 years earlier than the general population due to preventable physical health conditions, delayed treatment and gaps in ongoing care.
Each year, more than 206,000 Australians with severe mental illness are hospitalised, with researchers estimating at least one in four of those admissions could be avoided through earlier intervention.
“It is that no one – not case managers, not psychiatrists, not carers, not GPs – has the capacity to review every care gap,” shared Project lead Professor Niranjan Bidargaddi.
AutoReview is designed to help bridge that gap by automatically identifying patients who require attention, allowing clinicians to intervene earlier rather than responding once someone has already deteriorated.
The system will also include a companion app, enabling patients and carers to stay connected with case managers and healthcare providers as they transition back into the community after treatment.
An earlier version of the software was trialled over eight months with psychiatric patients through the Inner North Community Health Service in Gawler, showing promising results.
The new funding will allow researchers to evaluate the platform across six South Australian community mental health services over a 30-month period, assessing its impact on patient care, health outcomes and system efficiency.
Professor Bidargaddi said, “Once a patient has sought an initial consultation with a clinician, they might be provided with a diagnosis, a mental health care plan and then they are sent off with instructions for treatment such as taking medication or trying therapeutic techniques. Multiple ongoing medical appointments and medications are burdensome for patients to manage on their own.
“The problem is that most clinicians don’t have the resources to keep track of every patient manually. This can lead to the patient relapsing and potentially becoming hospitalised. The aim is for AutoReview to provide better communication to help prevent this.”
Flinders University Professor Sharon Lawn added, “People living with severe mental illness want care that reflects what matters to them – not just what is recorded in health systems. By partnering with people with lived experience throughout the design and governance of this project, we are helping ensure the technology supports recovery, respects priorities and earns community trust.”
The project is expected to run through to 2031 and could pave the way for a new generation of AI-supported mental health care across Australia.
