Wales to receive Map of Medicine

Informing Healthcare, the Welsh NHS IT programme, has announced that it has secured Map of Medicine, a web-based clinical pathways and knowledge sharing tool, for deployment across Wales.

The tool can be used by healthcare professionals to view clinical pathways across several disciplines, including A&E, mental health and palliative care. Managers and commissioners can use it for planning and commissioning, and GPs are able to use the flowcharts for decision support.

Dr David Gozzard, medical director at Conwy and Denbighsire NHS Trust, said: "The Map of Medicine has been developed by clinicians and is based on the best clinical evidence available.

"The pathways available to both primary and secondary care clinicians will aid in the development of innovative models of treatment for all patients. I welcome the opportunity to develop agreed best practice across the health sectors."

More details about how the system will be implemented across Wales will be available next month. Informing Healthcare says it is currently working out an implementation plan for the software with the National Leadership and Innovation Agency for Healthcare and the Delivery and Support Unit.

The software was developed by Dr Owen Epstein in partnership with the Royal Free Hospital, Hampstead and University College London. The software is delivered by Medic to Medic, a division of Informa Healthcare.

Informing Healthcare say that once the software is deployed, they will monitor how it is being used and whether the software is fulfilling its potential. The national IT programme added that they anticipated the system will help support clinicians and their decision making, and provide patients with more co-ordinated and seamless care.

England’s Connecting for Health is intending to roll out Map of Medicine nationally as part of the National Programme for IT. Last year’s deployment figures from CfH show that the system has so far been implemented in 51 sites, mostly in the Eastern cluster but also in the North East.

A cut-down demonstration of the software is available on www.mapofmedicine.com.