Introduction
The bestpractice Decision Support tool is an electronic presentation of current guidelines and advice for diagnosing and managing patients.
Decision Support: Provides quick information based on current best practice and New Zealand guidelines that are tailored to each individual patient. Bestpractice extracts and saves key information to the Practice Management System, advises on when referral is appropriate and creates the referral form.
Bestpractice now provides the following nationally funded modules at no cost to practices.
Adverse Drug Reaction Reporting: Medsafe funded Module
This module has been developed on behalf of Medsafe to improve and facilitate the electronic reporting of adverse drug reactions in general practice. This online reporting form automatically populates details from the general practice Practice Management Software, including current medications and vaccinations.
The completed form is sent electronically to the Centre for Adverse Reactions Monitoring (CARM) while a copy is retained within the patient record.
Adult Depression: Ministry of Health funded module
Management options for depression in primary care sit on a continuum from simple advice and monitoring to intensive multidisciplinary intervention. The bestpractice module advocates a “stepped care” approach to management which entails choosing the least intensive intervention required to achieve clinical change for an individual. The stepped care model guides treatment using a combination of evidence-based principles and continuous clinical assessment. Progression through levels of care is determined on the basis of patient response, with support for self-management a major feature.
Acne: Pharmac funded module
The module is set up to provide an initial assessment of the individual and the severity of Acne leading to appropriate advice and range of treatment and management options including Isotretinoin.
The module guides users through isotretinoin information and procedures and gives advice on:
- Contraindications and cautions
- Laboratory tests that are required and the timing of tests
- Patient information
- Side effects
The module also contains links to patient consent documents, extraction of laboratory results, lab request forms, and can write the isotretinoin script to the patient record allowing quick access to the special authority process.
The Isotretinoin component of the acne module is also available as a stand alone module
Childhood Asthma: Pharmac funded module
This module is an interactive presentation of current guidelines for diagnosing and managing childhood asthma. It assists in giving the probability of asthma based on the patient assessment and management. It gives decision support for the control and treatment using a stepwise approach. It can also create an individualised patient action plan.
What is bestpractice Decision Support?
The bestpractice Decision Support tool is an electronic presentation of current guidelines and evidence for diagnosing and managing patients. Advice that may have been found only by reviewing numerous pages of guideline material can now be displayed in a matter of seconds using Decision Support.
Decision Support:
- Provides quick information and advice tailored to each patient
- Can extract and save key patient information to the Practice Management System
- Advises on when referral is appropriate and creates referral forms
- Advises on appropriate medication choices with links to prescribing information, and can generate prescriptions
- Provides forms such as mental health screening scores.
- Is compliant with the Health Information Privacy Code (HIP Code) by securely storing patient’s electronic health information, restricting unauthorised access to that information and ensuring only relevant information is collected
What do I need to run bestpractice?
To run bestpractice you need a:
- Windows based PC running Windows XP, or Vista.
- Practice management system (eg MedTech, MedCen, Houston, MyPractice)
- Broadband internet connection
- Digital certificate and password (supplied by us)
Contact
Murray Tilyard, Kaye Baldwin or Jamie Murley
bestpractice Decision Support
Level 8, 10 George Street
PO Box 6032
Dunedin
Ph: 03 479 2816 Fax: 03 479 2569