Online/offline resource offers training, certification, and point-of-care clinician reference to support and improve the existing healthcare training infrastructure, clinician education, and patient outcomes
Leaders from Clinical Care Options (CCO) and its subsidiary, inPractice®Resources, LLC (inPractice) gathered with partners, government, faculty, and supporters in Pretoria on Friday, July 26, 2013, to celebrate the launch of inPractice Africa.
The digital solution, a regularly updated learning resource and treatment reference, was developed in cooperation with the Foundation for Professional Development (FPD) and the University of the Witwatersrand and made possible by a public–private partnership grant from the US Agency for International Development (USAID) and grants from Abbott, Gilead Sciences, Janssen, and Merck pharmaceutical companies, as well as an investment from inPractice.
The program, designed to help meet the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) and Medical Education Partnership Initiative (MEPI) goals of building clinical capacity, enhancing retention of clinicians and supporting task shifting, provides South African physicians and nurses with relevant, practical training, and certification to support and improve existing healthcare training infrastructure, clinician education, and patient outcomes.
The launch celebration began with a 30-minute demonstration of the program by Samantha Parsons, General Manager, inPractice® Africa, followed by the opportunity for questions and remarks from attendees. Participants were particularly impressed by the breadth and depth of the curricula content and one guest remarked on its immediate relevance to clinicians’ practice in the field, noting that inPractice is a truly unprecedented way to provide rural clinicians with access to critical treatment information. “This brings the reference library back into the pocket of clinicians,” said Dr. Gustaaf Wolvaardt, Managing Director, FPD.
At a reception immediately following the opening session, faculty, partners, and other guests had the opportunity to experience inPractice Africa first-hand via tablets and smartphones stationed throughout the room. Users easily navigated the resource on both iOS and Android devices, which were set in “offline” mode to show how easy it is for clinician users to access information and earn credit while not connected to the Internet. One guest remarked after navigating the program, “This is such a valuable resource—we must get it to our clinicians immediately.”
“Our goal has been to address the needs of the clinicians in Africa by creating a unique, sustainable, flexible technology platform that can ultimately be shared across the continent,” said Dr. Jeffrey Drezner, Managing Director of both CCO and inPractice. “We have spent the better part of the past year re-engineering our US-based technology to ensure it will work in the cities, districts, and rural clinics across Africa and, with the support of an African faculty, provide unique curricula that will make a difference in quality of care.”
About Clinical Care Options and inPractice®
Clinical Care Options is the leader in the development of innovative educational technology platform that integrates all levels of medical education and information with personalization of the clinician’s experience and the integration of moderated social media. It has been a pioneer in the creation of continuing education and decision-support resources for healthcare professionals. In addition, CCO and inPractice® (a wholly owned subsidiary of CCO) have created original CME content and information resources designed specifically for healthcare providers in the areas of HIV, hepatology/ gastroenterology, and hematology/oncology both in the United States and around the world. Educational programs encompass a spectrum of interactive online and live formats that not only provide the latest scientific information but also support the understanding, confidence, application, and competence of healthcare professionals. inPractice brings this knowledge to the point of care by translating and distilling the constant stream of new information into practical knowledge readily available in the practice setting.
For more information about the inPractice Africa resource, visit www.inpracticeafrica.com.
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