Today we are excited to have launched our comprehensive online mental health assessment tool for struggling Kiwis who want to work with their General Practitioner to improve their mental health.
“With one in five affected by mental illness, and mental distress increasing due to Covid-19, it is really important for Kiwis to book a mental health check-up with their GP”, says our Co-founder and CEO, Marshall Couper.
“An Australian study of over 46,000 GP visits showed that GPs failed to recognise mental health conditions that were present in 56% of patients. A similar study in the US showed that 69% of patients with bipolar disorder are misdiagnosed. This is largely attributed to the short 10 minute consultations in primary care that are simply not long enough for a GP to get the full picture of a person’s mental health. Compared with a physical check-up, mental health just requires more time.”
Loffty solves GPs time challenges by enabling people to complete their comprehensive Loffty assessments online, in their own time, anywhere. The reports go to their GPs who will now have much richer information about their mental health symptoms as an aid to diagnosis and treatment. As well as enabling people to start their own assessments and at our website, Loffty.com, GPs can also refer their patients to Loffty by sending them a link. This will help Kiwis receive more accurate and timely diagnoses and get on the correct treatment pathways, resulting in better mental health outcomes.
Unlike single-disorder tests that GPs traditionally use to assess, for example, just depression or just anxiety or free quizzes people find online, Loffty is a ‘multi-condition’ or ‘multi-disorder’ assessment covering 30 of the most common mental health disorders. These include major depression, generalised anxiety, bipolar, post-traumatic stress (PTSD), postnatal depression, alcohol dependence and abuse, adult ADHD, obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), eating disorders and phobias.
Our advisor, Professor Luke Larkin, also a globally recognised suicide prevention and public health expert, is based in New York witnessing the mental health impact of Covid-19 first-hand. “True wellbeing starts with awareness,” he says, “so it is vitally important we don’t just assess for depression when mental health is far more complex than that. Just asking ‘Am I depressed?’ is not enough. Loffty is a paradigm changing aid that gives voice to the silent suffering of our patients and GPs the ability to hear that voice.”
Loffty has been used successfully for over 10 years by GPs in Australia where it is accepted as a decision support tool for GP Medicare rebate purposes.
Chris Mulroney, Clinical Director at One Point Medical, a GP practice in Melbourne, explains, “Loffty gives me a comprehensive view of what is affecting my patients’ state of mind in an easily digestible format that I can review in 30 seconds before the consultation. I then ask follow-up questions and make a formal diagnosis. Loffty is especially useful during these Covid-challenged times when I have a waiting list of patients. It’s also the perfect companion to my telehealth consultations.”
Feedback from Australian customers shows that Loffty has transformed lives – these people are now thriving. The team at Loffty is looking forward to hearing about similar results from our fellow Kiwis!
Loffty is just $19 during Mental Health Awareness Week 2020 until 31 October 2020
GPs and practitioners can refer patients and review Loffty reports for free. Loffty reports are sent to GPs directly. The Loffty directory includes GPs Nationwide.
- Complete a Loffty assessment yourself.
- Contact Loffty with a press enquiry.
- Register as a Loffty GP or practitioner.