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Based in Brecon, Powys, we are ideally placed for working within the Principality. A considerable depth of local knowledge and contacts has enabled TEAM Associates to build an unrivalled understanding and experience of Welsh IM&T. We have been instrumental in all of the major IM&T projects and programmes undertaken in the last twelve years. Below is a short overview of just some of the work we have undertaken.
This two-year project was designed to examine the use of newly developed video-conferencing equipment in providing both clinical and educational services throughout rural areas of Wales. Sixteen general medical practices, the Heath Authority, The Department of Health Informatics, University of Aberystwyth and Department of Dermatology in Carmarthen were linked in order to provide tele-dermatology services and delivery of training packages. This project broke much new ground and led to the development of new patterns of service delivery and learning techniques. TEAM Associates based their company name on this project.
In 1995, TEAM Associates project managed and delivered this two-year project aimed at establishing six practices as demonstration sites for the use of IM&T. These sites were give practical assistance with either evaluating, choosing, implementing or improving their computer systems and their information management processes. The sites were all at different stages of IM&T maturity but all progressed very satisfactorily to become demonstrator sites. In addition to setting up these sites, a major toolkit was developed, known as the IT Files this toolkit was distributed to all practices in Wales to assist with IM&T development. The topics covered in this impressive toolkit were:
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Making IT work for you........information management and change management
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Training! Where do you start?............all aspects of training from TNA to evaluation
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Choosing, using and improving your systems......tips and guidance on all aspects
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Putting IT into practice..........experiences and lessons learned from the six practices
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Practice initiatives.....specific success stories from individual practices
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Where to obtain help and advice......traditional and web-based sources of help
This on-going programme of work is designed to collect morbidity data from a large number of practices throughout Wales in order to establish incidence and prevalence of diseases and workload.
TEAM Associates were commissioned to investigate the quality of data on some of the contributing computer systems and to deliver feedback of the findings to the practice teams. The results were very re-assuring in many ways but identified areas of concern for missing or wrongly coded data. The feedback sessions were very popular and resulted in many improvements in data capture and recording.
A number of practices across Wales were successful in bidding for assistance with their information management requirements in return for participating in a study on current problems with IM&T. TEAM and the Institute for Rural Health (link) worked with others to evaluate current practice, suggest improvements, work with the practices on remedial activities and evaluate changes.
The results were published and contributed to development of the ICT Foundation Programme
Further information can be obtained fron the www.wales.nhs.uk/foundation
This major programme of work is aimed at improving the quality of information held on general practice computer systems. Following the methodology used in Primis this work is overseen by the University of Nottingham department of general practice
See: www.primis.nottingham.ac.uk
and managed by TEAM Associates.
Five facilitators were recruited, trained and supported in their collecting and analysis of annonymised, aggregated practice data. This analysed information is fed back to the practice teams in order to investigate possible reasons for less than perfect data collection. The facilitators then work with practices to an agreed plan of action in order to improve the situation.
Approximately 100 practices were involved.
The threat of widespread disruption to medical services over the millennium period resulted in 22 workshops on contingency planning to be delivered around Wales throughout 1999. These courses were organised by the Institute for Rural Health and delivered by TEAM Associates.
All practices were invited to attend and the workshops received very high evaluation scores.
This one-day module has been delivered to three groups of students and deals with the key issues of:
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Information Sharing
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Data collection and coding
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Validation
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Using clinical and management information
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Training needs analysis
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Training planning
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IM&T Strategy development
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Information Governance
Work is currently being undertaken to map the content of this course to the standards laid out in Learning to Manage Health Information and NHS Health Informatics Competency Profiles. see: www.nhsia.nhs.uk/nhid/pages/resource_informatics
Work was commissioned to identify the Educational Development in Information and Communication Technology (EDICT) requirement for the NHS in Wales. This study involved widespread consultation with all aspects of the NHS and Education providers in Wales. Views were obtained on the perceived needs and a list of priorities was drawn up. Suggestions on:
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Priorities
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Delivery methods
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Standards
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Principles
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Management
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Bidding for funding
were included in the final report. Many of the recommendations have already been implemented and programmes of ETD have been developed or commissioned.
This work is delivering an equitable, standards-based ICT infrastructure across general medical practices in Wales. In order to maximise the benefits this technology will bring to patients, practices and the NHS in Wales, TEAM Associates have been instrumental in developing an ETD Framework to accompany the roll-out of this programme. The Framework was developed following widespread consultation and agreement with the service and agreed by the Foundation Programme Board for implementation.
The Framework is based on agreed published standards, commends a variety of delivery methods, advocates continuous evaluation and amendment and stresses the need for cost-effective local delivery based on proper training needs analysis.
A copy of the Framework document can be obtained from the ICT Foundation Programme. www.wales.nhs.uk/foundation
- Delivery of E-health seminars across Wales
E-heath is the application of modern information and communications technology in the delivery of all aspects of patient centred health care deliver
In conjunction with the Institute for Rural Health and the Llwybr Project we designed and delivered a number of seminars to NHS staff across Wales. They were designed with the aim of giving people an opportunity to:
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Learn about and take part in both an audio- and tele-conference
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Gain instruction in using the Internet and WWW
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Set up and use e-mail
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Evaluate the possibilities of this technology in their work.
The events were both fun and informative and gained very high evaluation scores from participants. | 
