Clinical Matters Newsletter - October 2020 30 Oct 2020

Welcome to the October 2020 Edition of Clinical Matters!

In this issue...

New Temporal Artery Biopsy Pilot	Introducing the New Mobile-Friendly HealthPathways
Naloxone to be Available for People with Opioid Use Disorder	Hepatitis Foundation NZ
Iron Infusion in Pregnancy? Seek Specialist Advice First!	Midland HealthPathways Update

New Temporal Artery Biopsy Pilot

The GP Liaison team have developed a new eReferral for WBOP - the Temporal Artery Biopsy service, now undergoing a pilot between October and December 2020.

If you suspect your patient has temporal arteritis, please call Dr Tim Sole (or APU SMO if Dr Sole away) via the DHB switchboard to discuss the case.

Once request is approved, send the new eReferral with the details requested on this Bay Navigator page - Bay Navigator | The Bay of Plenty's Leading Clinical Resource

You MUT note which SMO you have spoken to on the eReferral

Your patient can be listed for a biopsy by the surgical service and followed up in rheumatology clinic, usually within 1-2 weeks.

Naloxone to be Available to People with Opioid Use Disorder

The Ministry of Health has provided funds for Naloxone (Narcan) to be available to people with opioid use disorder. BOPAS is therefore about to distribute Naloxone to people in the community who use opioids and are at potential increased risk of overdose. Please see this flyer for further information.

Iron Infusion in Pregnancy? Seek Specialist Advice First!

If you're considering an IV iron infusion in a pregnancy patient, it's worth noting that IV iron is contraindicated in the first trimester of pregnancy. In the 2nd or 3rd trimesters it should be discussed with obstetrics first. There is a pathway on HealthPathways containing all relevant info - see IV Iron Infusion Procedure.

Introducing the New Mobile-Friendly HealthPathways

We are moving to the mobile-friendly version of HealthPathways, to ensure you can access valuable pathway information no matter what device you are using.

The new version incorporates all the same clinical guidance in a local context, but does so with a clean, contemporary design and added features to make accessing HealthPathways easier. Full launch is mid-November.

Click here for further info.

Hepatitis Foundation NZ

Check out the Hepatitis Foundation's latest newsletter for information on Liver Function Testing, Clinical Trials for Hep B, and referring patients directly to the Hepatitis Foundation. See here.

Midland HealthPathways Update

New pathways for GPs on HealthPathways
The following pathways are now live on our HealthPathways site for you to use:

Atrial Fibrillation
Renal Colic
COVID-19 Assessment and Management in Aged Residential Care
Colorectal Symptoms
Hypertension

And remember there is up-to-date information on all matters Covid-19 for primary care on Health Pathways, including national as well as local information.

HealthPathways is a collection of management guidelines specifically tailored to primary care. Our GP Liaison team is in the process of 'localising' these pathways to the Bay of Plenty, i.e, making them relevant to GPs and other primary care providers specifically in the Bay of Plenty. You'll find valuable pointers on history, examination, treatment and of course when and how to refer patients on to other services. These pathways will, over time, be replacing the Bay Navigator pathways.