SYDNEY, June 11, 2015 /PRNewswire/ --
Capita Healthcare Decisions has won a contract with Healthdirect Australia to help people check their symptoms online and receive personalised healthcare advice.
(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20150402/736790 )
With over 80% of Australians seeking health information online* Healthdirect Australia recognised the importance of ensuring that the information they are accessing is safe, relevant and trustworthy. In response they developed the Healthdirect Symptom Checker - an online tool which allows people to check their symptoms and receive personalised advice on what healthcare action to take next.
Healthdirect Australia chose Capita's proven Decision Management Software (DMS) to power Symptom Checker. The DMS will allow the organisation to aggregate its own verified content and present it to consumers on http://www.healthdirect.gov.au through Capita's Application Programming Interface (API). All health information in the Symptom Checker has been through a clinically governed quality assurance review.
Capita's DMS and API have significantly reduced the time taken to populate the Symptom Checker flows with verified clinical content, and changes and updates required are simple to undertake.
Healthdirect Australia, an organisation established by the Council of Australian Governments, designs and delivers a range of innovative services to provide every Australian with 24/7 access to the trusted information and advice they need to manage their own health and health-related issues.
Professor Anton Donker, chief information officer at Healthdirect Australia, said:
"An ageing population, the growth of digital by default and patients that are often living in rural or remote locations has made online access a vital part of the way we ensure that all Australians receive good quality health advice and assessment.
"The Symptom Checker places users at the centre of decision-making by guiding them to the appropriate healthcare option based on their current symptoms, helping them find local health services, and providing links to further information about their symptoms and possible causes."
Richard Atkins, general manager, International for Capita Healthcare Decisions, said: "Our decision support software has been used by some of the world's leading healthcare providers to power more than 85m patient transactions. We revolutionised access to 24 hour health support and advice here in the UK, but our systems are also now being used as far afield as Australia, Ghana and Brazil, making Capita Healthcare Decisions a real UK export success story.
"We strive, constantly, to ensure not only that our own clinical content continues to set best clinical practice but that our applications work in harmony with the wide range of systems in use in public and private healthcare across the world."
* Market research conducted by Objective Digital in June 2013
Note to editors:
About Capita's Healthcare Decisions business (formerly Clinical Solutions)
We transform healthcare decision making. Our solutions support healthcare providers to make better decisions about their patients, and empower individuals to make better decisions about their own health and wellbeing. Over the past 16 years, our decision support software applications have been used by some of the world's leading healthcare providers and insurers to power over 85m patient transactions. Capita Healthcare Decisions brings together clinical expertise and Silicon Valley innovation to power decision support which delivers more for less and is underpinned by three principles: safe, connected, useful. For more information go to http://www.capita.co.uk/healthcaredecisions
About Healthdirect Australia
Healthdirect Australia is a publicly funded company, established to provide all Australians with access to trusted health information and advice, when and where they need it. We deliver a number of health services, including healthdirect - trusted, quality health information and advice online and over the phone. For more information visit: http://www.healthdirect.gov.au.
About the healthdirect Symptom Checker
The healthdirect Symptom Checker is an online tool which provides consumers with evidence-based information and advice. Consumers can often feel uncertain about 'what to do next', including seeking medical advice and treatment even when they need it. The Symptom Checker facilitates this decision making process.
The Symptom Checker has been developed by Healthdirect Australia under strict clinical guidance from GPs and other medical specialists to ensure that the information is safe, accurate and compatible with local medical guidelines and practices. For more information, see this video.
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