Revision of Manual of Use and Interpretation of Pathology Tests (2004)
Description
This project updated the content of the Manual of Use and Interpretation of Pathology Tests, and made it available via the Royal College of Pathologists of Australasia (RCPA) website in a format facilitating searching, downloading and incorporation into other software.
Grant Recipient
RCPA
Aim
to provide recommendations for future directions including a business plan for future updating and distribution of the Manual independent of government funding.
This aim was achieved by this project.
Findings
The Manual is quite a unique publication both within Australia and internationally, and the absence of competitor publications offers scope for limited sales within Australia and potentially overseas.
The Manual has the potential to generate income from distribution in several formats:
CD version
print version
lab requirements subscription.
There is significant demand for print and CD versions of the Manual from general practitioners (GPs), but significant resistance from them to paying for it.
There appears to be an awareness amongst GPs that the Manual is being used by the Commonwealth as a behaviour change intervention to change pathology ordering, and introducing strong Digital Rights Management (DRM) provisions creates the possibility of a negative reaction from GP groups.
Recommendations
Future versions of the Manual continue to be developed by the RCPA in conjunction with other appropriate professional colleges.
The Internet and PDA versions of the Manual continue to be available at no cost and through unrestricted access via the Internet site.
A registration process and differential licensing arrangements be undertaken for the following formats of the Manual:
CD version – non-commercial and commercial on CD and downloadable
print on demand hard copy version
subscription version (CD, download and print)
international distribution
individual laboratory requirements subscription.
A dual licensing system should be examined for the Manual.
The following forms of licensing be implemented for the Manual:
non-commercial use
single purchase CD or hard copy book
commercial use licences
subscription licence
international licensing.
Key Project Learning
The Manual itself continues to be recognised as an important resource for assisting pathology ordering and interpretation, and to be used by the majority of those surveyed.
Follow on Initiatives and Projects
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RCPA Manual Transformation Project (2010)
Description
This project sought to update and transform the Royal College of Pathologists of Australasia (RCPA) Manual to reinforce its position as the pre-eminent source of pathology information for health care practitioners, and develop a series of evidence-based Pathology Decision Support Tools (PDSTs) to guide referring practitioners in requesting pathology tests for the diagnosis and ongoing management and monitoring of their patients.
Grant Recipient
RCPA
Aims and Objectives
to convene a Steering Group to oversee the upgrade of the Manual and provide advice, make decisions and comment on any amendments to the existing Manual
to revise and update the content of the current RCPA Manual
to upgrade the formatting of the RCPA Manual so it is comparable to Lab Tests Online (LTOAU), and also to create a link between the two websites so the two products are associated
to develop PDSTs and upload the tools into the RCPA Manual.
These aims and objectives were achieved by this project although a link to LTOAU could not be established due to the underlying technical format of the respective websites, as well as the way the content was set out. However, an external link to the LTOAU website was included on the RCPA Manual website.
Outcomes
At the time of the report, 43 PDSTs were completed and placed on the RCPA Manual website.
The Manual has been redeveloped to make the website more user-friendly.
The RCPA’s internal web developer was continuing to attend to ongoing maintenance of the website.
Between 22 April 2010 and 13 December 2010, 38,470 unique visitors had visited the RCPA Manual 67,756 times and viewed 288,474 pages. It also received about 5,000 unique visitors, 8,500 visits and 36,000 page views monthly.
Finding
The RCPA Manual continues to be used by general practitioners (GPs) and other referring doctors throughout Australia, and provides a handy reference material for medical students.
Recommendation
Future work to the Manual website may include:
developing a special version for hand held devices such as an iPhone or Blackberry
promoting the website internationally
maintenance
backup
regular content revision based on new information
integration with the software used by the GPs and the other doctors (e.g. Royal Australian College of General Practitioners [RACGP] Primary Care Side Bar).
Key Project Learning
The final formatting by the RCPA’s internal web developer took considerable time due to technical issues before the PDSTs were transferred onto the live RCPA website.
Areas for Future Consideration
Explore the use of online tools for training and support of quality pathology.
Explore how the RACGP and the RCPA can work together to integrate and enhance the utility of the PDSTs to the clinical practice of requesters such as an accessible link to the RCPA Manual via GP’s desktops.
