Mental Health Crises in Rural and Remote Australia: An Assessment of Direct Medical Costs of Air Medical Retrievals and the Implications for the Societal Burden.

Objective: Adequate mental health service provision in rural and remote Australian communities is problematic because of the tyranny of distance. The Royal Flying Doctor Service provides air medical retrieval for people in rural and remote areas. The economic impact on both the Royal Flying Doctor Service and the public hospital system for mental health-related air medical retrievals is unknown.