A digital tool to optimise STI/HIV care in general practice

• Jane Goller

  Dr

Project Details

PROJECT DETAILS

This five-year project aims to reduce the STI/HIV burden in Australia by increasing testing and promoting best practice management in general practice through implementation of Australia’s first multifaceted digital clinical decision support tool for STIs/HIV.  For this project we will expand our existing software called 'Future Health Today ' that we co-designed with general practice and develop a comprehensive STI/HIV module to support guideline concordant care. It will provide prompts to remind doctors to talk to patients about STI or HIV and link them to the best information. We will work in partnership with government, primary health networks, hospitals, sexual health clinics, general practice and professional organisations – all key players in sexual health policy and care.  This project will commence early in 2026.

BACKGROUND TO THE PROJECT

In Australia >150,000 people are diagnosed with the sexually transmissible infections (STIs) gonorrhoea, syphilis or chlamydia each year and also 500-1000 with HIV. In the past decade there have been marked increases in gonorrhoea and syphilis and changing epidemiological trends, particularly in women with re-emergence of congenital syphilis (>120 cases since 2015). Pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) has dramatically reduced HIV transmission globally, but in Australia HIV rates remain high for Asian-born MSM, highlighting gaps in access to prescribing.

Critical for preventing STI/HIV transmission, morbidity and mortality is access to timely testing and treatment. But specialist sexual health services are at capacity. General practice provides the most accessible healthcare, but general practitioners (GPs) experience barriers to STI/HIV testing and care including lack of time, sexual health expertise or simply forgetting to raise it. Building capacity for digital health technologies and STI/HIV prevention and treatment in general practice is a priority in Australian policy.

Future health today (FHT) is a software developed by the University of Melbourne initially for chronic disease.  FHT integrates with electronic medical record systems used by >90% of general practices and scans patient records to create lists of patients who can be targeted for testing or care and at the point of care can provide prompts and links to relevant resources for decision support.  FHT can be expanded to other conditions.

PHD OPPORTUNITY

This project involves an exciting PhD opportunity to join a dynamic team of researchers, clinicians, informatics specialists and policy makers in working on an innovative digital tool that will improve the diagnosis and management of STI/HIV in primary care.  
Further information: available here

Researchers

Chief Investigators

Dr Jane Goller
Dr Jacqueline Coombe
Professor Jane Hocking
Professor Lena Sanci
Professor Douglas Boyle
Dr Barbara Hunter
Associate Professor Amalia Karahalios
Professor Jason Ong (Melbourne Sexual Health Centre)

Associate Investigators

Dr Eloise Williams
Associate Professor Jo-Anne Manski-Nankervis (Nanyang Technological University)
Dr Sara Whitburn (Sexual Health Victoria)
Rebecca Wigan (Melbourne Sexual Health Centre)
Dr Edward Skinner (Clinic 365 - www.clinic365.com.au)
Dr Mike Conway

Partner Organisations

• Aim Health Melbourne Student Medical Centre
• Australasian Society for HIV, Viral Hepatitis and Sexual Health Medicine
• Clinic 365 - www.clinic365.com.au
• Melbourne Sexual Health Centre
• North Western Melbourne Primary Health Network
• Royal Australian College of General Practitioners
• Sexual Health Victoria
• Summerhill Medical Centre
• Victorian Government Department of Health
• Western Health

Funding

NHMRC Partnership Project (GNT2044530)