Mental Health Self-Referral Platform

Case study by Tina Pan - www.tinapan.me/

Mental health services in New Zealand are currently experiencing record demand. Public wait‑lists for ADHD and related assessments exceed 12 months in major centres, while private options remain fragmented and opaque. Patients face multiple barriers in accessing care:

No single place to see which providers are accepting new referrals.
No public-facing directory of specialists – GPs have access to one, but patients do not.
User‑generated lists exist but are scattered and unofficial.
Filling out the same intake forms multiple times.
Lack of status updates, creating anxiety and drop‑off.

“I sent three referral emails and never heard back. I can’t tell if I’m in a queue or just ignored.” – Primary research participant, age 32

User Research

Methodology: semi‑structured interviews with patients seeking ADHD or related mental health assessments, plus desk research on Ministry of Health service data.
Personas created:

– “Ella” (ADHD adult seeking first assessment)

– “Injae” (parent supporting teen through referral)

– “Spencer” (patient with prior misdiagnosis navigating next steps)

Research Insights

Barrier	Evidence	Opportunity
Wait‑lists	Users were often left in the dark after submitting a referral.	Build a real‑time capacity indicator with patient-facing updates.
Duplicate forms	Wasted time spent re‑entering history per provider.	One master intake form that follows the patient.
No directory	Users rely on GPs or shared spreadsheets to find providers.	Leverage and centralise crowdsourced directories into a patient-friendly platform. Use existing GP-access directories where possible.

Ideation & Brainstorming

Unified patient‑centred intake – single smart form usable across providers.
Progress tracker – show referral status and next steps in one dashboard.
AI support agent – helps gather background info from notes/emails.
Post-diagnosis toolkit – reminders, subsidy options, coping resources.

Prioritisation (MoSCoW + Feasibility):

Idea	Value	Effort	Decision
Unified intake	High	Med	✅ MVP
Progress tracker	High	Med	✅ MVP
AI agent	High	High	Explore R&D
Toolkit	Med	Med	Future phase