Since their initial workshop event in August 2018, West Moreton Health and the Darling Downs West Moreton PHN have been working together to bring HealthPathways to life across the West Moreton health system. At the heart of this work is a strong commitment to keeping local general practitioners (GPs) engaged.
After introducing HealthPathways to over 70 healthcare professionals at the initial workshop, the West Moreton team has worked hard on pathway development, with over 170 pages now localised.
An official launch event in late August this year provided another opportunity for 80 local clinicians to gain a deeper understanding of how HealthPathways can enhance patient outcomes and provide more care closer to home.
“It was encouraging to see the growing interest from local general practitioners and also to look back at how far we’ve come over the past 15 months,” says Tracey Chadwick, West Moreton HealthPathways Regional Coordinator.
“Our key focus areas leading up to the launch included cardiology, palliative care, gynaecology, contraception, and ENT. Based on the feedback we’ve had so far and what we’ve gleaned about local demand, our priority areas for 2020 will include more pathways in diabetes, respiratory, ophthalmology, urology, rheumatology, endocrinology, gastroenterology, and nephrology. Continuing our focus on the needs of our local general practitioners will be key to this work,” she says.
Tracey and former Regional Coordinator Laura McLean worked with clinical editors Jason Dawson, David Chambers, Jane MacLeod, and Rebecca Kerr, plus subject matter experts, to not only localise the pathways but exceed the target they had set to reach by the official event.
“Our project team of Laura McLean (who left the project in August 2019), Tracey Chadwick, Andrea Stephan, and the PHN team of Denise Pambid (Senior Manager – Program Development, Evaluation and Engagement), Jared Cruikshank (Program Officer), and Tanusha Ramaloo (GP Liaison Officer), have worked incredibly hard to get our HealthPathways initiative off the ground and build engagement,” says Angela Wilkinson, Acting Director of Outpatients, West Moreton Health.
Official launch (left to right): Tracey Chadwick, West Moreton Health; Tanusha Ramaloo, GP Liaison Officer; Jared Cruikshank, Darling Downs and West Moreton PHN.
Viewing pathways (left to right): Theresa Johnson, Darling Downs and West Moreton PHN; Cristelle Mulvogue, West Moreton Health; Dr Tony Bayliss, Darling Downs and West Moreton PHN; Melinda Parcell, West Moreton Health.
“Diagnosing Dying” workshop
In October, Tracey was invited to present a short presentation on HealthPathways at an upcoming workshop. As the theme was Diagnosing Dying, she felt the palliative pathways would be a good example to show general practitioners how HealthPathways can help improve the delivery of palliative care.
Tracey Chadwick presents information about HealthPathways at the Diagnosing Dying workshop.
Diagnosing Dying provided evidenced-based, current information about the vital aspects needed to deliver better palliative care. Presenters in addition to Tracey included Professor Liz Reymond - Director, Brisbane South Palliative Care Collaborative, and Dr Ross Cruikshank - Palliative Medicine Specialist and Medical Oncologist, West Moreton Health.
The workshop focused on identifying, assessing, and planning for people approaching the end of life, developing communication skills around death and dying, and improving knowledge regarding the role, purpose, and legal implication of Advance Care Planning.
Clinical Nurse Consultant Ros Holloway showcased the West Moreton Care at the End of Life Knowledge Framework and Tracey provided education on clinical pathways relevant to palliative care.
“We received very positive and valuable feedback from the approximately 30 attendees,” says Tracey.
“These types of events provide real value in keeping people up to date with what our HealthPathways programme can provide, and in keeping our internal team in touch with the interests of those at the coalface,” she says.
Diagnosing Dying workshop presenters (left to right): Dr Ross Cruikshank, Palliative Medicine Specialist and Medical Oncologist, West Moreton Health; Tracey Chadwick, West Moreton HealthPathways Regional Coordinator; Liz Reymond, Director, Brisbane South Palliative Care Collaborative; Rosslyn Holloway, Clinical Nurse Consultant, West Moreton Health.
Analytics help inform pathway development
To ensure their pathway development programme reflects local demand, Tracey and the team regularly review Google Analytics to monitor interest in different pathway categories.
“This helps us to get a good picture of which areas are being referred to most often, and where there is likely to be interest in more resources,” she says.
Building local engagement
For tips and resources to help you build HealthPathways engagement in your area, see Getting General Practice Engaged with HealthPathways, or Engagement and Education. These resources have been provided by members of the HealthPathways Community.