Administered by WA Primary Health Alliance, the free-to-access, password-protected HealthPathways WA website contains localised clinical pathways, which provide clear and concise guidance for assessing, managing and referring patients across Western Australia.
Request Access Visit HealthPathways
HealthPathways WA helps clinicians easily navigate their patients through the complex primary, community and acute healthcare system.
The aim of the program is to streamline the referral process to ensure patients access the right care, at the right time, in the right location.
All localised pathways include local health service information, providing GPs with local referral options. This enables a seamless, effective and complete patient journey by combining clinical and health service information in one place.
More than 650 localised HealthPathways have been produced, with more than 31,000 users in the 2021-2022 financial year. HealthPathways WA is designed to be used at the point of care, primarily by GPs but is also available to hospital specialists, nurses, and other health professionals.
Our HealthPathways WA team also works collaboratively with other HealthPathways teams in Australia, New Zealand and the UK, to share knowledge, processes and up to date information.
In partnership with GPs and their practice teams, and health professionals across many disciplines, we are delivering better health, together.
To access the HealthPathways WA site:
- Request log on details by using the login request form, or emailing health.pathways@wapha.org.au with your full name, professional role and organisation (or practice name).
- Log on to the HealthPathways website
Who is involved in HealthPathways WA?
HealthPathways WA is developed in collaboration with local GPs, hospital specialists, allied health providers, and other key stakeholders.
WA Primary Health Alliance administers the site, with pathway development being governed together with the WA Department of Health.
Working groups, consisting of specialists, GPs and key stakeholders, are established to identify issues affecting patient care for a particular health issue. The working group assists in proposing solutions to identified issues, and whilst they do not write or sign off on pathways, they review and provide feedback for consideration.
Visit the HealthPathways WA project site to read more and find out how you can be involved with developing and reviewing HealthPathways.
Benefits for Health Professionals
HealthPathways is succinct and easy to use. It serves to accelerate evidence into practice to ensure better, safer care and to streamline referral processes. Health professionals will simply, log on to the website and search for the patient’s condition to access assessment and management guidelines.
Benefits for patients
Patients benefit from receiving the right treatment in the right place at the right time, as well as timely referral for specialist care when required. HealthPathways offers GPs quick access to educational patient information resources, which will enable patients to better understand and manage their own health.
Developing a pathway
When a pathway is first adapted to Western Australia, it goes through the following development stages:
- GP Clinical Editor (CE) conducts literature review of relevant available high-level evidence and guidelines
- A working group is established, if required
- GP CE prepares a draft pathway in collaboration with our New Zealand technical writing team
- Concurrently, a HealthPathways Coordinator begins identifying any relevant services to be included in the request page/s
- Subject Matter Experts (SME) review the draft pathway
- Consultation is undertaken with the WA Department of Health, inviting feedback from clinicians, allied health and policy makers
- Pathway is finalised and published on the site
- Pathway is scheduled for review every 3 years, unless clinically significant changes occur during this time
Resources
For all queries please contact the HealthPathways team via email health.pathways@wapha.org.au.