wondered if you could help our listeners understand what a typical patient seeking care through Lighthouse would experience and who are they?

I would say the majority of the patients that self-refer to our service have actually never accessed substance use treatment before in their life.

And I think that's quite unique and indicative of the gap that our service is filling.

Depending on the region where the patient is from, sometimes they might say that they're from quite a small community and accessing that sort of care in their community can be quite stigmatizing.

And sometimes patients don't live close to an in-person service.

So they'll often say, it wouldn't be practical for me to access in-person substance use care.

because you'd have to drive a couple of hours each way to the clinic, and it's just not feasible to fit into day-to-day life.

What are some considerations that are used to determine when a patient is maybe not appropriate for virtual care and should be referred to in-person services instead? Could you talk us through that process a little bit?