inPractice Africa to Present Its Unique Online And Offline Educational Platform at 20th International AIDS Conference

RESTON, Va. and PRETORIA, South Africa, July 17, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- inPractice® Resources today announced that it will deliver a poster presentation at the 20th International AIDS Conference (AIDS 2014) taking place in Melbourne, Australia, 20-25 July 2014. Titled "inPractice® Africa: A Unique Offline and Online Interactive Training and Point-of-Care Resource to Provide Digital Medical Education in Settings with Limited or No Internet Access," the poster will present key learnings from the innovative training and point-of-care reference tool created to support South African clinicians in the management of HIV-infected patients. The presentation will be given 23 July, 12:30 - 14:30, in the Exhibition Hall, Ground Level.

Designed to deliver digital education to online and offline devices in resource-constrained settings, inPractice Africa is regularly updated and can be used both for structured training with CPD credit or to quickly search for answers at the point of care. It is available via the inPracticeAfrica.com Web site, an installable Windows application, and Apple and Android apps for smartphones and tablets.

inPractice Africa was developed in cooperation with the Foundation for Professional Development (FPD) and the University of the Witwatersrand and made possible by a public–private partnership grant from the US Agency for International Development (USAID) and grants from Abbott, Gilead Sciences, Janssen, and Merck pharmaceutical companies, as well as a major investment from inPractice Resources.

The poster presentation, authored by Edward King, MA, Chief Innovation Officer, inPractice Resources; Samantha Parsons, General Manager, inPractice Africa; Dr. Ian M. Sanne, Editor in Chief, inPractice Africa; and Dr. Gustaaf Wolvaardt, Managing Director, FPD, explores lessons learned from the use of inPractice Africa in the field.

"In resource-constrained settings, use of digital medical education and decision support systems is hampered by lack of Internet availability, poor reliability, low bandwidth, and/or cost of service," said Mr. King. "As we will share with our colleagues at AIDS 2014, inPractice Africa addresses these challenges through unique technologies that translate the benefits of online digital education to offline devices. Our work in South Africa has shown that an appropriate platform can provide both structured training and a resource that enables clinicians to find answers to specific management questions at the point of care."

"We have built a great foundation with inPractice Africa for South African clinicians—but we are just as excited about the future," said Ms. Parsons. "With its flexible platform, inPractice Africa can be expanded and tailored to meet the specific curricula and in-service training needs of individual host countries. We are currently in discussions with partner organizations, funders, and ministries in multiple other countries to develop versions for their own clinicians."

About inPractice
inPractice, a subsidiary of Clinical Care Options, is a point-of-care clinical reference tool designed for specialists. Available in specialties including hepatology, HIV, oncology, oncology nursing, and rheumatology, inPractice offers focused specialty-based content written specifically for patient care and a seamless blend of reference and education, with earned CME for topics searched.

inPractice Africa was produced by inPractice in collaboration with South African partners and authored by expert African clinicians for healthcare professionals working in resource-constrained settings. For more information, visit inPracticeAfrica.com. To learn about bringing inPractice Africa to your country or project, email [email protected].

About Clinical Care Options
Clinical Care Options is the leader in the development of innovative educational technology platforms that integrate all levels of medical education and information with personalization and moderated social media. CCO has been a pioneer in the creation of continuing education and decision support resources for healthcare professionals both in the United States and around the globe for more than a decade. For more information, visit clinicaloptions.com.

SOURCE inPractice