2005-11-11
New Zealand healthcare system selects world leading clinical decision support solution
InferMed is proud to announce a new partnership with the Best Practice Advocacy Centre (bpacinc) in New Zealand.
bpacinc selected InferMed’s AREZZO decision support technology after evaluating several alternatives. Professor Murray Tilyard, the Director of the Centre, is delighted. ‘AREZZO is clearly suited to our needs. We want our existing paper-based guidelines to be available electronically throughout New Zealand. AREZZO offers us the opportunity to do so quickly and effectively. We can even customize the guidelines to local needs.’
The AREZZO software will be used to encode more than one hundred guidelines for patient referrals and management. The guidelines cover the range of clinical problems faced everyday in general practice. They incorporate evidence-based and best-practice recommendations. Professor Tilyard said: ‘We have shown that the our content makes a difference and is appreciated by our general practitioner colleagues. Electronic versions will make the guidelines easier to access and even more useful. The award-winning Early Referral Application (ERA), developed for the NHS Cancer initiative jointly by InferMed and Cancer Research UK, clearly demonstrated this was possible. We were also impressed by the results shown in studies of AREZZO.’
AREZZO’s Composer, which allows the development of electronic decision support rules, has proven easy to use. Dr Robert Dunlop, Director of InferMed’s Clinical Practice Division, reported: ‘bpacinc’s knowledge engineers were able to start work immediately. AREZZO’s new library functions and ontology editor mean that guideline components can be easily reused in the future as well. Users are already evaluating the first guidelines. Their feedback can be incorporated straight-away.’
Work is also underway to integrate AREZZO with clinical practice software systems. GPs will be able to call up the relevant guideline from the electronic patient record. Clinical data on age, diagnoses, allergies and medications will ensure recommendations that are specific to each patient.
bpacinc is planning future developments, based on AREZZO’s ability to personalise information from multiple sources. Guidelines on laboratory and other tests will be included. Chronic disease management pathways are also being considered. Negotiations are underway to incorporate other sources of evidence-based information.
“As New Zealand has a small population distributed over a large territory, we need to exploit technology to allow us to deliver the highest quality of care. We judge Arezzo and our partnership with InferMed will allow us to make significant gains” added Professor Tilyard
About the Best Practice Advocacy Centre
Based in Dunedin, New Zealand, bpacinc is an independent organisation whose role is to promote the responsible use of pharmaceuticals to general practitioners and other health professional groups throughout New Zealand. It has four key shareholders: Procare and South Link Health (both Independent Practitioners Associations or IPAs), the Independent Practitioners Association Council (IPAC) and the University of Otago.
bpacinc aims to:
- Develop and distribute resources that provide prescribers with a sound basis on which to review the way they prescribe for and treat their patients
- Provide clear, concise and relevant information based on the best available evidence
- Use a collaborative and cooperative approach coupled with appropriate marketing and market analysis to ensure positive programs targeted to meet the needs of prescribers and patients
