Leveraging health information to enable the transformation of chronic disease management : the epilepsy exemplar

Abstract

Like most chronic conditions, the diagnosis and optimum management of epilepsy relies on contributions from a number of healthcare disciplines in a variety of geographically diverse number of healthcare settings e.g. community based general practice, secondary and tertiary care. As a consequence the health care delivery for patients can sometimes lead to uncoordinated care, inconsistent advice for the patient, inappropriate or unnecessary investigations, and delays in diagnosis and the initiation of treatment. All of this poses a significant challenge to achieving optimal healthcare for patients.