COACH PROGRAM (CP): A SOFTWARE PACKAGE ASSISTING HEALTH PROFESSIONALS TO ACHIEVE SECONDARY PREVENTION TARGETS IN THE COMMUNITY. M J Vale*, N J Doherty 1, M V Jelinek and J D Best. Department of Cardiology & The University Melbourne Department of Medicine, St Vincent's Hospital; 1 Department of Epidemiology & Preventive Medicine, Alfred Hospital; Melbourne. Background: There is a persistent reliance by clinicians solely on verbal communication for patient education concerning their medical condition, results of physical and laboratory examination, and instructions and recommendations. This information is easily misinterpreted or forgotten. To increase the effectiveness of communication and patient education in coronary heart disease (CDH) prevention, we developed a computer-assisted instructional program (CP) to generate a written summary of the discussions and negotiations of patient counselling sessions. Methods: CP was developed using Microsoft Access. The Coach Study is testing a new method of administering secondary prevention of CHD. It involves regular telephone communication between Dietitian and Nurse "coaches" and patients, to increase the proportion of patients who achieve and maintain risk factor reduction. CP covers 8 coronary risk factors. As each risk factor is discussed, CP enables rapid selection of relevant statements under 1) Assessment of current risk factor status, 2) Target and 3) Coach advice. Results: The computer program produced a personalised summarised patient report of current risk factor status and negotiated strategies to achieve proven targets for secondary prevention. For the patient, these reports provided reinforcement, reference and reminder of the negotiations of each counselling session and goals to achieve by the next contact. For the health professional, they provided an invaluable reference of patient progress and compliance. The program is currently being used within cardiac units in 6 sites. Spontaneous feedback indicated the written reports were received very favourably by the patients. Conclusions: The computer generation of reports was practical and provided a mechanism that allowed all patients to have a clear understanding of their current risk factor status, targets and expected progress. |
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