Map of Medicine
Map of Medicine is an online care pathway tool. It contains over 400 pathways for a variety of illnesses, from gastroenterology to mental health to thoracic medicine, and includes both primary and secondary care. It presents pathways of best practice for conditions that are not normally seen in general practice. It will provide 'on the job' knowledge support for trainees and locums, and hep to enhance patient safety and reduce clinical variation.
There is a national version of the Map of Medicine and a local version of the map which contains revised pathways to reflect agreed local practice within Milton Keynes and local information and telephone numbers.
NHS Milton Keynes is an early adopter of the Map of Medicine.
How can the Map of Medicine help busy GPs and practice staff?
How does the map support Commissioning?
How do I get access?
How is it used in Milton Keynes?
Interested in developing a new pathway?
Implementing the Map : roles and responsibilities
Where can I find more information?
- The Map gives clinical staff a single up-to date source of best practice guidance that clinicians can easily access at the point of care
- Best practice for conditions that are not commonly seen in general practice
- 'On the job’ knowledge support for trainees and locums, enhancing patient safety
- Access to local guidelines
- Information about local services
- Supports standardisation of practice and minimises risk of variation in treatment, thus minimising the risk of litigation
- Facilitates the evidence-based redesign of the clinical pathway
- Helping staff from different services to discuss their respective roles and get an overview
- Helping to define referral points and criteria
- Minimising the risks of inappropriate referrals, tests and procedures
- In future the Map will form part of NHS Milton Keynes service specifications of the clinical pathway
- The public can access many of the national care pathways available as Healthguides on the NHS Choices website here, accessible on the internet without passwords
- The localised version of the Map of Medicine can be accessed from the internet, using an ATHENS password. NHS staff can register for an ATHENS account,
- NHS staff in Milton Keynes can view the localised map of medicine care pathways at http://england.mapofmedicine.com
If you have difficulties with Athens access or access to the Map of Medicine contact
Heather Behan, Project Manager, Map of Medicine heather.behan@miltonkeynes.nhs.uk
Anne Gray, Commissioning Librarian. commissioning.librarian@miltonkeynes.nhs.uk tel. 01908 278686
Quality: MK Review groups use the Map to review clinical pathways. Subject to approval, a map can be edited at two levels:
- Localisation – changing the clinical pathway to reflect agreed local practice
- Adding Local information - signposting local services and helpful websites
NHS Staff in Milton Keynes can view the localised map of medicine care pathways at http://england.mapofmedicine.com. (Athens account required - see How do I get access)
Key contacts are
Professional communications and engagement.
Heather Behan, Learning and Leadership Manager: heather.behan@miltonkeynes.nhs.uk tel. 01908 278680
Heather is the project manager for Map of Medicine for Milton Keynes. She can give advice on the practicalities of the process of reviewing pathways, signpost to colleagues with experience of using theMap , and link into the PEC agenda. Heather also promotes awareness of the Map and confirms approval for publication. Heather is your main contact for all your information needs when developing or revising a pathway
Clinical Governance
Alison Jamson, Head of Clinical Standards: alison.jamson@miltonkeynes.nhs.uk. tel. 01908 278682
Review leads must advise the Clinical Governance Manager as soon as work begins on reviewing a clinical pathway.
This role also spans the boundary for pathways requiring joint approval by both the PCT and Milton Keynes Hospital NHS Foundation Trust
Training and support
Anne Gray, Commissioning Librarian: commissioning.librarian@miltonkeynes.nhs.uk. tel. 01908 278686
Anne helps to raise awareness of the map as the first stop for high quality evidence and supports planning and review groups working with the map. She may be able to assist review groups in gathering details about local services and resources that can be included in the local information shown in the Map.
Anne welcomes patient and public representatives on the review groups to access the Map at the Postgraduate Centre Library.
Stephen Nall, CASSO Manager: stephen.nall@mkpct.nhs.uk. tel. 01908 214282
| Lead: |
Janet Westcott |
| Clinical Champion: |
Dr. Tina Kenny |
| Editors: |
Heather Behan, Stephen Nall, Anne Gray |
| Feedback reviewer: |
Heather Behan |
| Reviewers: |
nominated per pathway, authorised by PEC |
| Approvers: |
nominated per pathway, authorised by PEC |
| Publisher: |
Sue Lacey-Bryant |
- MoM Case study. Wirral PCT. Improving care delivery and commissioning
Wirral PCT identified early on that the Map provided an opportunity for clinicians and managers to work together to tackle local issues and drive change, ultimately facilitating improvements in patient care. “There are now six Map of Medicine pathways being used in the Wirral, bringing enormous benefit to patients in terms of commissioning and updating services. For example, for patients with AMD, a journey that once took 10 weeks, now takes 10 days.
- MoM Case study. NHS Western Cheshire. Reducing cellulitis hospital admissions in Western Cheshire.
A key challenge was engaging clinicians and communicating the detail of the redesigned pathway.
