1. For Official Use Only-I1-A1
Health Consumer Alliance of SA .
Transforming Health - HealthPathways
17 February 2017
For Official Use Only-I1-A1

2. What is HealthPathways?
HealthPathways are:
A New Zealand based product developed and adopted by States and Territories in Australia and some parts of the UK.
Web based information portal for use by GP and approved referrers.
Co-developed by hospital specialists and primary health care providers.
HealthPathways will support GP’s in the management of patients in the community and support access to hospital specialist services.
HealthPathways is a New Zealand based product developed in Canterbury in 2008 through a partnership between Canterbury District Health Board and Streamliners.
HealthPathways -The portal provides information on a dedicated website for use by GPs/referrers to help manage patients in the community, as well as referral criteria when another health service is required.
South Australia’s HealthPathways portal will be populated with treatment options and referral criteria co-developed by SA Health specialist clinicians and primary health care providers, mainly GPs.

3. The South Australian Context
Partnership between SA Health and the Adelaide Primary Health Network and Country SA Primary Health Network.
The co-design of HealthPathways with GP’s and SA Health clinicians, accessible through the South Australia HealthPathways Live Site.
Aim to launch South Australia HealthPathways live site with localised and approved pathways in 2017.
Rolling localisation of 700 pathways.
The HealthPathways Team will be formed to undertake the work identified within the HealthPathways Program Plan, in particular the localisation of pathways to the South Australian context.
Specialist and subject matter experts will be sought after to participate in Clinical Working Groups, focussed on a particular condition or speciality area that has been prioritised for localisation, to discuss issues affecting the ability to deliver optimal patient care which will assist in the development of pathways.

4. What is HealthPathways?
700 pathways that can be localised to the South Australian context.
Evidence based practice linked to national and international standards.
Each Pathway comprises of four components:
Assessment:
Management: Information to support the patient in the community.
Red flags: Conditions or symptoms where a referral should be made for specialist assessment.
Request: Referral criteria to outpatient specialist services and link to where referral forms can be found.
Each pathway provides comprehensive, evidenced based information on how to assess and manage medical conditions in the community, and when required, how to request specialist care and input from other health services in the local area such as an SA Health specialist outpatient service.

5. HealthPathways Portal
This is the home page of the Canterbury test site.
The left hand side of the screen provides links to clinical conditions – alternatively you can use the search function above

6. Why HealthPathways?
To support collaboration and coordination for quality patient care across primary and acute sectors.
To support service redesign where there is identified local health care needs and service gaps.
To optimise the use of resources and standardises health care processes.
To ensure equity of access and consistency in service.
By joining the HealthPathways Community, South Australia has a mechanism for bringing together clinicians from both primary and secondary care to:
develop standardised pathways for patients with specific conditions and reduce variability in clinical practice.
improve quality of care and optimise the use of resources by providing GPs with clear information, and therefore greater clarity, about patient management and treatment options
reduce demand on acute services, as patients are able to be better managed in the community, and referrers have assurance that referrals which meet agreed criteria will be accepted
All of which improves patient outcomes and results in the achievement of a more sustainable and integrated health system.