WEB-BASED APPLICATIONS FOR GUIDELINE IMPLEMENTATION IN PRIMARY CARE

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Efforts in developing guidelines have to be supported by investments on their application. Medical software may have a role in these initiatives. Two computer programs have been developed: one regarding chronic kidney disease and one about chronic pain management. For six months their use by 104 general practitioners was monitored. At study conclusion, a questionnaire of 13 multiple choice questions was emailed to all participating doctors. To evaluate the clinical benefits for the patients, a GP regularly used the CKD program and provided patients’ outcomes and clinical data. The application recorded 108 accesses during 66 work sessions. In the clinical outcomes section of this study, 7 patients out of 21 were diagnosed with CKD. Our study shows a need for programs of the “expert systems” kind: sources devoted to a narrow field of competence, accessed only when needed, in a way that resembles traditional specialist consultation.

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