On Wednesday 25 November, the Northland HealthPathways Team hosted a one-day seminar to during which members from the HealthPathways Community introduced HealthPathways to local general practitioners and hospital clinicians.

HealthPathways Community Chief Clinical Editor, Dr Graham McGeoch explained the evolution of clinical pathways in Canterbury and the results of ‘whole-of-system’ change within the Canterbury health system. He provided attendees with a demonstration of how HealthPathways is used by GPs in-practice.

Graham also outlined the work group process, whereby primary and secondary care clinician meet and explore burning issues for a specific clinical area. The aim of the work group is to identify current practices that can be documented within HealthPathways and larger issues that require system change.

Dr Dave Dixon, Clinical Lead from Nelson Marlborough HealthPathways, gave a presentation via Skype on rapid localisation, what works and doesn’t work in a large rural jurisdiction, and how to make HealthPathways local while benefiting from the larger Community.

Finally, HealthPathways Implementation Consultant, Juanita Gibson talked about the practical aspects of pathway development and localisation, including an overview of the suite of HealthPathways platforms and tools.

Organiser of the event, Northland GP Liaison Diane Davis said, “The feedback I’ve received from a number of attendees is how helpful it was. They now have a much better understanding of what the HealthPathways is and the task ahead of us. There’s also a high level of interest in getting pathways up and running. So managing this demand is going to be our challenge.”

Photo credit: Adrienne Sidal