Gollow Lecture by Rebecca Guy:
- Focus on the ever-increasing utility of the various (existing, new & emerging) IT platforms & applications for:
- improving client & patient care experience
- increased efficiencies / time savings for clinical staff and thus also for the service as a whole
- the potential and actual role(s) for technology to be utilised in both primary & secondary prevention
Examples of efficacious technology utilisation:
- Sydney Sexual Health:
- electronic patient self-registration + appointment self-arrival system reduces the amount of time spent in reception by (a significant) 4 minutes
- Benefits of CASI (computer assisted self interviewing): "most people don't want to discuss their sex lives in detail with doctors and nurses" => much easier to respond honestly to questions on a screen than go through the 'gruelling agony' of a face to face interview with a clinician
- Computer prompts for GP's shown in one study to increase opportunistic testing of e.g. chlamydia by a significant 30%
- Significant improvement in partner notification via websites such as 'Drama Down Under' & 'Let Them Know'
- Significant increase in re-testing rates utilising an SMS reminder system (NB: ~20% of people have a reinfection within 12 months of a +ve result) => in 2009 SSHC instituted an SMS reminder service. Result: 64% return rate for re-testing; a significant increase in re-testing rates vs a verbal recommendation after Rx. of the first infection
- * Very interesting 'side discussion' re: the use of online dating & hook-up apps => not only the domain of the young; rather, people of ALL ages are using these platforms. Also of note => people who use these online / dating apps are more likely to have had an STI in the past & more likely to have a higher number of casual partners
- ?? The Future:
- Online Clinics?
- Home STI testing?
- Finally: Rebecca promoted clinicians to access the freely available Kirby Institute Data sets: http://www.data.kirby.unsw.edu.au/