Management of Care Through Computerised Protocol-Based Care Plans

Health care for Aboriginal people in the Kimberley region of Western Australia is based on a pro-active, community-level and protocol based approach supported by a web-based clinical information system called MMEx. In MMEx, protocols are encoded as structured care plans that prompt health professionals to perform specified activities according to a specified schedule. Use of the care plans means that care for patients, who exhibit a high incidence of chronic disease in this population is more effective and efficient. Performance of the health services can be measured easily with meaningful measures of benefit to the patients they serve. This paper describes the basis for this system and how it was implemented in this remote region of Australia.