- Healthy growth for EpiSoft's take on e-health
October 2010
Since launching our cross-browser compatible web system in October 2008, EpiSoft has grown steadily. The system is now in use in five Australian states and in New Zealand.
In October 2010, there were about 15,000 patients and well over 50,000 clinical visits/encounters recorded in the various EpiSoft communities, of which about 2,000 visits are part of a formal research study. This signifies healthy
growth of EpiSoft's e-health communities during 2010 and demonstrates the scalability of the Software as a Service solution model for e-health.
- What's for Christmas?
October 2010
Some great new features are in the pipeline for our product range and will be released into selected communities progressively until the end of the year.
Click here to read about
what we've been up to lately and what's coming up prior to Christmas.
- EpiSoft's Tasman crossing
September 2010
EpiSoft releases a module for the management of patients on biologics for Crohn's Disease under the New Zealand Pharmac subsidy arrangements.
We have developed a generic method for tailoring the EpiSoft system view based on the user's country of origin.
This enables international communities to share clincial workflows where there is commonality of clinical or administrative practice but, where country differences exist,
we can now tailor your view of the system to modules specific to your country. This allows existing and future EpiSoft enabled collaborations to
be increasingly international while allowing for local differences in clinical practice.
- Studies under recruitment
September 2010
Recruitment into the current studies on EpiSoft continues steadily with over 10% of patients recruited for the University of Sydney
CAMCOM (Collaborations in Asthma Management in the Community) study and over 60% of patients recruited for the St Vincent's Hospital POCER (Post Operative
Crohn's Endoscopic Recurrence) study.
- Electronic hospital admission system project approved
September 2010
Following completion of a beta-release proof of concept in April 2010, approval has been granted for EpiSoft to design and build
the secure web-based electronic preadmission solution for a major private hospital.
This solution will record approximately 250 administrative and clincial questions in advance
of a patient's hospital admission and the patient-focussed admission record will be retained for future use (review and edit) by the hospital's regular visitors.
The project will involve dynamic theming of the site to reflect the branding of the selected hospital and admission type and seamless integration into the hospital's PAS and EHR using the web services method.
The system will be initially implemented in a large private hospital and shortly afterwards, in a small day surgery, enabling our customer to
evalulate the administrive and clinical outcomes benefits gained by different types of facilities in the hospital group.
The site is expected to be in production and marketed to patients by early 2011.
As part of this project, we are also planning to evaluate the user-friendliness and accuracy of coded data capture methods
utilising the National eHealth Transition Authority endorsed SNOMED-CT terminology standard directly from the patients themselves.
- Smoking cessation underway
August 2010
EpiSoft commences work on a smoking cessation study aimed at the Indigenous community in regional Queensland. This will be another example of a prospective study deployed into
an existing EpiSoft community previously established for the ongoing management of patients with chronic disease. A number of health care professionals will be
involved in supporting patients through the quit smoking program using one of our permission-based shared health record methods.
The study will involve centralised patient recruitment by the fundholding body for Aboriginal health care in the region, thereafter case recording and program visit
management by the patient's Quit coach/case manager, GP and community pharmacist. The technical solution will include secure web services delivery of recruited patient information from the regional
Indigenous client management system to the EpiSoft Software as a Service platform in the cloud for access by the patient's health care professionals to record study visit
information. GP practices are already using the EpiSoft system for recording of visit information for indigenous patients and the smoking cessation study will be deployed on the same
community of over eighty practices, resulting in major cost savings to the study with secure web infrastructure, controls on record access, user training,
technical support and data management processes already in place as part of the existing chronic disease community.
- Community-based asthma study
July 2010
The Collaborations in Asthma Management in the Community study undertaken by the University
of Sydney was released this month and training of involved health care professionals commences.
Approximately 60 community pharmaicists and GPs are enrolled in this study designed to test the effectiveness of
managing patients' inhaler technique in the management of their asthma. This study involves consent-based sharing of the patient's asthma record
with health care professionals in their area, enabling both GPs and community pharmacists to record study visit data for the patient. The
system supports automated scoring of asthma inhaler technique and asthma quality of life questionnaires, recording of progress notes and changes
to asthma medication as well as notification of other health care professionals involved in the patient's care if the patient's condition warrants.
- Hospital pre-admission automation
April 2010
EpiSoft completes the proof of concept for the electronic hospital admission system in April 2010 and ready for review by a leading private hospital's
Executive Committee. This project, if approved, is expected to improve the flow of administrative and clinical information into the hospital for more effective planning and service provision.
The benefits to the hospital are expected to include improvements in operating efficiency, reduction in physical storage requirements of the paper medical record,
and provision of automated trigger events to commence patients on an electronic clinical pathway and alert clinicians to certain clinical issues.
This project is also expected to provide significant time saving benefits to patients as well, a large proportion of whom are repeat visitors to the hospital facing
the onerous task of filling out 6 pages comprising approximately 250 questions in advance of a hospital admission on a routine basis.
- International randomised controlled trial of patients with Crohn's Disease commences patient recruitment
December 2009
EpiSoft provides the online CRFs and and results reporting for a large multicentre international randomised controlled trial of patients with Crohn's Disease.
This trial is making use of EpiSoft's very latest product features including our automated study eligibility checking algorithm, automated risk stratification and recommended
treatment advice based on risk category, automated randomisation to treatment and control groups, automated treatment stepup advice based on patient findings at review,
automated capture of Quality of Life questionnaires and automated scoring, and detailed recording of Adverse Events / SAEs and automated notification to study investigators.
Click here to read our Testimonial from the study Principal Investigator.
- National Medicines Census online
October 2009
EpiSoft provides the online data recording and results reporting for the National Prescribing Service's National Medicines Census. NPS and unversity collaborators can enter data
from consumer surveys and download the results ready for statistical analysis in real-time. The time of project commencement to the time of the solution
ready for data recording was less than 2 weeks.
- Clinical trial of patients with Crohn's Disease
September 2009
EpiSoft develops a clinical trial for patients with Crohn's Disease. This trial will be deployed across the IBD Network, reusing the existing community connectivity established for ongoing
management of patients with Crohn's Disease. The Case Report Forms include automated risk stratification, randomisation, study eligibility checking, automated score calculations on standardised Quality of Life and other instruments, missing and
invalid data checking routines on all data elements, automated visit cycle generator from index date and SMS reminders for study participants, automated treatment step up message and drug regimen advice
and capture of approximately 250 clinical trial data items additional to the standard forms in current use by the IBD Network. This solution was developed for the Melbourne-based Principal Investigators in less than a month.
A number of the existing IBD community users will be participating in the multi-centre clinical trial as well as some additional sites joining the network for clinical trial participation.
- EpiSoft completes the first stage of an industry-strength integration architecture
August 2009
We have been evaluating the Microsoft BizTalk interface engine to support our customers' integration requirements between EpiSoft and other health sector applications.
Click here to read more about our use of BizTalk.
- Clinical community for mental health
July 2009
EpiSoft completes development on a clinical community solution for allied health professionals involved in the provision of individual
and group session based programs for a range of mental health conditions. This program is now in use by a Division of General Practice and psychologists in the region.
- Indigenous health repository project completed
February 2009
EpiSoft completes the indigenous health population repository for a Queensland-based Division of General Practice inclusive
of data imports from leading practice software and dynamic reporting tools
- Treatment cycle generator released
January 2009
EpiSoft delivers dynamic treatment cycle generator to IBD Network users. This component allows the setting of parameters
for a cycle of care and dynamically creates a cycle planner with future dates, SMS reminders and email
requests for the online completion of symptom diaries by patients. It has been well used by IBD Network
participants since its release.
- Roll-out of data extraction tools for GPs treating indigenous patients commences.
December 2008
GP data extraction tools are being rolled out in support of the indigenous health project. The data upload
application contains comprehensive routines for normalising and cleansing data from the source systems. Web-based applications
located in three separate environments are integrated in real-time using secure web services. Data extraction and analysis will
commence in early 2009.
- Health repository for indigenous patients in regional Queensland.
November 2008
EpiSoft works on the final stages of a population health repository for
indigenous patients in regional Queensland. This project is interrogating
several medical desktop systems in widespread use by GPs in the region and
uploading the data to a population health repository developed by EpiSoft
on behalf of the Division of General Practice. The client and referral
management system used by the local Aboriginal health authority will be
integrated via web services to the repository. Additional data will come
from the core EpiSoft application and integrated to the
repository, also using the web services method.
- EpiSoft launches a clinical community for audit of mesh repair patients.
October 2008
This comprehensive clinical assessment and quality of life dataset was
developed by the Centre for Pelvic Reconstructive Surgery for quality assurance
in their own practice. It captures detailed information at baseline, during the
surgical admission and post operatively and can also be used for long-term
follow-up of outcomes. It has attracted the attention of gynaecologists and
other surgeons working in the field of incontinence from across Australia and Europe.
- EpiSoft completes first phase development of a system for psychiatrists.
April 2008
EpiSoft completes first phase development of a system for psychiatrists to support
the management of patients with first episode psychosis.
- EpiSoft commences development on disease specific patient management.
January 2008
EpiSoft commences development on a new application platform designed to support
disease specific patient management and longitudinal research.
- Episoft used in Pelvic Floor Reconstructive Surgery research.
August 2007
A surgeon from the Centre for Pelvic Floor Reconstructive Surgery uses a range of clinical
and quality of life assessment forms stored in the EpiSoft system to research outcomes
in patients with pelvic floor dysfunction.
- EpiSoft provides Electronic Data Capture system for a leading pharmaceutical company.
June 2007
The international trial in diabetes sponsored by a leading pharmaceutical company draws
to a close with EpiSoft having provided the Electronic Data Capture system for the Australian
arm of this study and delivering data to the US based head office for analysis.
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