Counsellors have backed the National Rural Health Alliance's call for an urgent boost to health and community services in rural and regional areas.

It comes after the release of an Australian Institute of Health and Welfare report exploring alcohol and other drug consumption, harms, and access to treatment across the country.

The report found people in regional and remote areas were more likely than those in major cities to consume alcohol at risky levels, leading to disproportionate levels of alcohol-related harm.

Grampians Community Health drink and drug drive behaviour change program co-ordinator Ross Anders said providing support services in rural and remote areas had its difficulties.

"The challenges of providing these services to communities across seven shires can be substantial. These include efficiency of service, travel time, and lack of public transport, amongst many others," he said.

"In times where demands can outstrip available resources, the service makes every attempt to avoid delays for individuals seeking support."

Grampians Community Health youth, alcohol and other drug counsellor Jessica Johns said anything that helped organisations and counsellors increase their capacity to support communities to reduce drug and alcohol harms was welcome.

"Given the demands of servicing a large geographical rural and remote area, any greater consideration of the difficulties in efficiently achieving this would be beneficial," she said.

"The demand for alcohol and other drug services in our region is substantial.

"We could contribute that to some of the fantastic community development groups such as the Wimmera Drug Action Taskforce, which is working to increase community awareness and reducing the stigma associated with drug and alcohol use, allowing more members of our community to seek help."

The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare report also found that since 2008, the rate of drug-induced deaths had risen about three times faster in regional and remote areas than in cities.

Alliance chief executive Mark Diamond said the report was a wake-up call for policy and decision-makers.

"There are real issues here about access to services that country people experience - and it is not only treatment services for people with drug and alcohol dependency issues, but also the prevention and early intervention programs that are so important," he said.

"Our health professionals and researchers know all too well that the remote and rural communities are severely disadvantaged in relation to services to assist people with drug and alcohol addiction."

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