An Industry Case Study - Allan Nash, NPS MedicineWise Australia nps.org.au Independent. Not-for-profit. Evidence-based. Funded by the Australian Government Department of Health.
NPS MEDICINEWISE NPS MedicineWise (NPS) is an independent, not-for-profit, evidence-based organisation. NPS MedicineWise (NPS) Clinical Services Specialists (CSS) or Educational Visitors are trained academic detailers. Educational outreach visiting (EOV) is a proven and effective intervention to change health professionals’ practice. Educational Visitors influence decision making of general practitioners (GPs) to improve how health technologies, medicines and medical tests are used. nps.org.au Independent. Not-for-profit. Evidence-based. Funded by the Australian Government Department of Health.
IMPLEMENTATION OF DIGITAL DELIVERY Travel by Educational Visitors to rural and remote areas has enabled GPs in these regions to participate in educational visits each year. The challenge of delivering educational visits to regional, rural, remote areas has prompted the implementation of a new digital mode of interactive educational visit delivery called Virtual Visits (VVs). nps.org.au Independent. Not-for-profit. Evidence-based. Funded by the Australian Government Department of Health.
WHAT WE DID Web based VVs provide NPS MedicineWise with the opportunity to expand educational visiting services but are not intended to replace face-to-face in-person visits. NPS trialled web-based technology (Skype) in 2016 and 2017 to deliver educational visits to GPs and other health practitioners. nps.org.au Independent. Not-for-profit. Evidence-based. Funded by the Australian Government Department of Health.
EVALUATION Evaluation of virtual educational visits was conducted using a post-visit online survey to rate GPs’ satisfaction and outline their intended actions for change. The Net Promoter Score, an index ranging from negative 100 to positive 100 was used to gauge the GPs overall satisfaction with the activity. nps.org.au Independent. Not-for-profit. Evidence-based. Funded by the Australian Government Department of Health.
WHAT WE FOUND GP satisfaction A total of 181 GPs participated in the Virtual Visit program and the survey response rate was 14%. A Net Promoter Score of 69 was achieved for the VV activity, which is comparable to the traditional face-to-face Net Promoter Score of 70. nps.org.au Independent. Not-for-profit. Evidence-based. Funded by the Australian Government Department of Health.
RURAL DEMOGRAPHIC VVs by rural demographic A total of 1246 VVs were completed up to March 2019. The majority (80.2%) of the VVs have been delivered to regional (58.3%) and remote (21.8%) Australia. A total of 19.8% have been delivered in major cities. nps.org.au Independent. Not-for-profit. Evidence-based. Funded by the Australian Government Department of Health.
VIRTUAL VISIT GROWTH Virtual Visits by program Since the inclusion of the Virtual Visit option in 2018 NPS educational visiting programs, updated data shows significant growth in VVs delivered in consecutive programs of Neuropathic Pain (219 VVs), Proton Pump Inhibitors (355 VVs) and Lower Back Pain (340 VVs). nps.org.au Independent. Not-for-profit. Evidence-based. Funded by the Australian Government Department of Health.
VIRTUAL VISIT GROWTH Data analysis shows a sustained increase in Virtual Visits delivered in subsequent therapeutic programs. nps.org.au Independent. Not-for-profit. Evidence-based. Funded by the Australian Government Department of Health.
INCREASED VIRTUAL VISIT UPTAKE Data analysis also showed increased uptake of Virtual Visits with the 2017-18 total passed in the 23 rd week of 2018-19 year. Total number of Virtual visits to the end of June 2019 was 2.2% of the total face-to-face Educational delivery. nps.org.au Independent. Not-for-profit. Evidence-based. Funded by the Australian Government Department of Health.
GP PERSPECTIVES ON VIRTUAL VISITING Many GP participants initially experienced technological challenges. Flexibility and convenience were perceived to be the greatest benefits. Program content was highly valued for being evidence-based and applicable to daily practice. Most GP participants did not have access to Skype for Business, so the preference was to use Skype or other teleconferencing software. GP consensus that the virtual visiting mode of delivery was most suited to one-to-one visits. nps.org.au Independent. Not-for-profit. Evidence-based. Funded by the Australian Government Department of Health.
GP COMMENTS GP comment: “…it was a bit easier to target my learning needs because it was individual…it was just more the setting of being one-on- one versus a group setting.” GP comment: “It was good, I like the way the education was delivered, the content and the manner it was delivered in… it was concise, it was precise and I was happy with it”. nps.org.au Independent. Not-for-profit. Evidence-based. Funded by the Australian Government Department of Health.
EDUCATIONAL VISITOR FEEDBACK Interviews were conducted with Educational Visitors. The biggest non-technological challenge that Educational Visitor participants experienced was how to position and promote virtual visiting to GPs and practices. nps.org.au Independent. Not-for-profit. Evidence-based. Funded by the Australian Government Department of Health.
LESSONS LEARNED A lesson learned was the need for adaptability in the use of web-based delivery platforms to overcome technological challenges. As a consequence, alternate digital technology including FaceTime and Zoom have also been used. nps.org.au Independent. Not-for-profit. Evidence-based. Funded by the Australian Government Department of Health.
MARKETING OF VIRTUAL VISITS A flyer was developed to promote virtual visiting as an alternative mode of delivery. The flyer was distributed at health professional conferences in 2017 and promoted in the MedicineWise Update online newsletter. Bookings for Virtual Visits are available on the NPS website. Educational Visitors promoted virtual visiting to GPs and practices. nps.org.au Independent. Not-for-profit. Evidence-based. Funded by the Australian Government Department of Health.
MORE ACCESS TO EDUCATION Translate Digital Platform Increased Reach and flexibility Virtual Visits provide a more equitable access to healthcare education in rural and remote locations. The digital technology allows an interactive experience comparable in acceptance to face-to-face delivery, with increased reach and flexibility for increasingly time poor GPs. nps.org.au Independent. Not-for-profit. Evidence-based. Funded by the Australian Government Department of Health.
INCREASING ACCEPTANCE EVIDENCE BASED Translate Improved patient-centred care Evaluation and ongoing data has shown increasing acceptance of Virtual Visits as a suitable, interactive digital mode of Educational Outreach Visiting delivery, encouraging and contributing to effective Quality Use of Medicines, medical tests and improving patient-centred care. nps.org.au Independent. Not-for-profit. Evidence-based. Funded by the Australian Government Department of Health.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS All participating GPs. NPS MedicineWise is funded by the Australian Government Department of Health. nps.org.au Independent. Not-for-profit. Evidence-based. Funded by the Australian Government Department of Health.
Recommend
More recommend
