HealthPathways access

Visit Brisbane South HealthPathways by clicking on the button below:

A username and password is required to access Brisbane South HealthPathways. If you do not have one, please contact us at
BrisbaneSouthHealthPathways@health.qld.gov.au.

Program management and support

  • Christine McCormack

    Christine McCormack

    Program Manager, 
    Metro South Health

    Christine is a Redesign Manager (Clinical) for the Metro South Hospital and Health Service, and is responsible for the Brisbane South program in partnership with the Brisbane South PHN. Originally trained as a clinician, Christine has more than 25 years’ experience planning, managing and delivering health care services for a variety of health care, commercial and non-government organisations in Australia and the United Kingdom. In her current role, she has been instrumental in leading a major change agenda supporting greater collaboration between hospital clinicians and general practice to enhance outcomes for patients.

  • Kate Giles

    Kate Giles

    HealthPathways Coordinator,
    Metro South Health

    Kate is a Principal Partnerships Advisor for the Metro South Hospital and Health Service, which includes responsibility as the HealthPathways Coordinator for the Brisbane South program in partnership with the Brisbane South PHN. Kate has over 20 years’ public health experience working towards health equity and health system improvement within the public, private, non-government and university sectors across Queensland and in the United Kingdom. Kate has a keen interest in mobilising large scale, integrated and evidence-based best practice through simplified processes for practitioners which results in good health outcomes for individuals and populations.

  • Angela How

    Angela How

    Manager Evidence Translation & Innovation,
    Brisbane South PHN 

    Angela is a Registered Nurse with a Master of Clinical Practice as well as post-graduate qualifications in Education and Clinical Redesign.  Angela is Manager Evidence Translation & Innovation at Brisbane South PHN. In this role, Angela is responsible for identifying and leading initiatives that promote effective translation of best-practice evidence to improve primary health service delivery. Angela works closely with the Metro South Health HealthPathways team to deliver the HealthPathways program and integrate and connect local services to improve continuity of the patient and provider experiences in the region. Angela has a passion for person-centred care initiatives that empower people to be partners in their health and wellbeing.

  • James Darragh

    James Darragh

    HealthPathways Admin Support Officer,
    Metro South Health

     

The Brisbane South HealthPathways team

With the support of the Metro South Health and Brisbane South PHN Executives, Brisbane South HealthPathways is produced with the help of clinicians and dedicated project staff. 

Clinical leaders

  • Dr Susan O’Dwyer

    Dr Susan O’Dwyer

    Executive Director Medical Services,
    Metro South Health

    Susan is an experienced Specialist Medical Administrator and has been a Fellow of the Royal Australasian College of Medical Administrators (RACMA) since 2004. Susan was a recipient of the Royal Australasian College of Medical Administrators (RACMA) Distinguished Fellow award in 2018. She is also a Censor for RACMA.

    Susan works as the Executive Director of Medical Services of Metro South Health in Queensland and has done so since 2012. During this time Susan has had the opportunity to be involved in clinical ethics; risk and compliance; safety and quality, in addition to being the Professional Lead for Medical Officers. Susan received a Metro South Health Board Chairs Award for Leadership in 2016 for her role leading a significant industrial change for medical officers in Metro South Health.

    Susan was the Chair of the Queensland Board of the Medical Board of Australia (2016-2019) prior to which she was a member (2014-2016) and has chaired several subcommittees of the Board. Susan was selected as a member of the National Medical Board of Australia in 2016 and continues in this role. Prior to taking up a position on the Medical Board of Australia, Susan had a long standing role with the Australian Medical Council through their committees for International Medical Graduate assessment and accreditation and prevocational accreditation.

    Susan has a particular interest in health and wellness for medical officers and currently chairs the health and wellbeing committee in Metro South Health.

    "Brisbane South HealthPathways provides one place for clinicians in our catchment to access assessment, management and referral information, and is a major primary care initiative for our region."

  • Dr Peter Adkins

    Dr Peter Adkins

    GP Clinical Lead,
    Brisbane South PHN

    Dr Peter Adkins is a General Practitioner and GP Supervisor working at Birkdale Medical Centre and Senior Clinical Advisor with Brisbane South PHN.  He graduated in 1976 and following hospital and general practice based training worked as a Medical Educator with RACGP Family Medicine Programme (FMP) in Queensland from 1981 to 1994.  

    During his time with FMP he pioneered a number of distance education and GP training technologies. With a long interest in health information management he was an inaugural Health Informatics Society of Australia (HISA) Board member in 1993 and HISA Board Chair from 1997 to 2000.  

    Peter has been involved over the years in a number of initiatives to promote quality care and improved processes of care in the health community.  These activities have included education and training in the use of clinical information systems, secure electronic communication, clinical audit, and decision support systems.

    "The development of HealthPathways in the Brisbane South region is a welcome development in improving processes of care and better outcomes for patients."

Current GP clinical editors

  • Dr Azima Portelli

    Dr Azima Portelli

    MBChB FRACGP DRCOG DFSRH 

    I have been a GP in the Metro South area for over five years after relocating from the UK. Experiencing two different world healthcare systems has given me a unique insight into primary care interactions. General practitioners have always been the cornerstone of Australia’s healthcare system providing comprehensive and coordinated care to patients in their communities. The complexity of GP-patient encounters has increased and the growing shift of healthcare from secondary to primary care is an accurate reflection of GPs’ skills and therapeutic capacity. It is essential for us as gatekeepers to stay informed about services available for our patients, as well as practice up-to-date evidence-based medicine.

    I am really excited to be a part of the HealthPathways project, as I strongly believe that this valuable resource will support local GPs in the growing face of change. HealthPathways is a practical tool for General Practitioners to swiftly navigate locally relevant clinical resources, guidelines and patient services all in one domain. GPs value the importance of providing current and holistic care to patients and I believe that HealthPathways empowers us to do that.

  • Dr Caroline Yates

    Dr Caroline Yates

    MBChB FRACGP 

    I have been a GP for twenty years and I am a passionate advocate for General Practice and General Practitioners. I believe Primary Care is the most important of all Medical Specialties and is where the Australian consumer and policy makers get the most return on investment. However General Practice is becoming ever more complex; it is estimated that by 2020 the doubling time of medical knowledge will be just 73 days. Multi-morbidity and complex care is becoming the norm rather than the exception, GPs move localities and tertiary and allied health services change more frequently. Although GPs still manage the majority of patient concerns entirely on their own GPs today need more than just a medical degree and their address book to provide the comprehensive Primary Care service Australians require.

    HealthPathways is one resource that is focussed on the needs of the modern GP by helping General Practitioners quickly and easily find up to date clinical guidelines and referral information pertinent to their community. I was keen to be involved in developing and localising this resource for Metro South. I wanted to ensure that as this project was rolled out in my area, the GP voice was heard as to what was practical and useful for GPs and what would improve the efficiency of our patient’s journey through the health system. I am excited to be involved in a dynamic project which I believe fulfils these criteria.

  • Dr Caroline South

    Dr Caroline South

    BSc MBBS FRACGP

    I am excited about assisting to deliver clear, accessible guidelines to support GPs in providing an excellent level of care for all patients. I have been a GP for 10 years, working in the metro south region. I have previously been involved in tutoring medical students, and in being a GP training supervisor, both roles that I find rewarding and valuable.

    The autonomy we have as GPs is a great thing, but our work can be isolating, comparative to the team environment in many tertiary centres. Part of the attraction of working with HealthPathways, is to be able to facilitate communication, so GPs feel well supported by good quality, local, information, that’s easy to access then and there.

    We have such a privileged role as GPs, and we all strive to achieve the best outcomes for our patients who put their trust in us. The sheer quantity and breadth of information available, can be a daunting thing to tackle. Synthesising all this information and coming up with a plan for that individual patient in front of us... (in 15 minutes… or so…), is difficult. I hope by being involved in HealthPathways we can continue to provide clear concise information, that’s easy to connect with, thus assisting many GPs to provide timely, quality and up to date care for our patients.

  • Dr Eniko Ujvary

    Dr Eniko Ujvary

    MD FRACGP DRANZCOG DCH

    I am a GP with 13 years of experience working as a doctor in Australia. I have worked in numerous different clinical teams throughout my career, including rural, regional and metropolitan settings, always striving for high quality, patient centred care. I am passionate about women’s health, with additional qualifications in this field.

    As a general practitioner I find it is essential and sometimes quiet challenging to keep up with the evolution of medicine. I got involved with HealthPathways as a clinical editor in 2019, when I have already been using this resource for a few years in my routine practice. I believe HealthPathways is an excellent, evidence based online point of care tool for general practitioners, collating up to date clinical information that is formatted to the local context. I quickly developed a strong focus creating useful, relevant content.

    I have recently relocated to Brisbane with my family and am grateful for the opportunity to continue my role as a clinical editor for HealthPathways in the Brisbane South region.

  • Dr Leela Arthur

    Dr Leela Arthur

    BSc (Hons 1) MBBS FRACGP DCH 

    I have been a GP in the Brisbane South area for over five years and love working in a challenging environment with a cohort of patients often with complex needs.  What I love less is the challenge of navigating a complex healthcare system, and the time-pressures that ten-minute consults and an ever-expanding breadth of medical knowledge bring in providing the right advice for my patients.

    HealthPathways is an easy-to-access, evidence-based resource that I trust to answer my questions and help me navigate the local referral pathways quickly and easily during a consult. It is exciting to see this resource grow and expand to become increasingly useful over time, and it is now the first place I look when needing information quickly for my patients. It is a resource written by GPs for GPs and links to locally relevant resources and patient information. 

    I am excited to be involved as a clinical editor to continue growing HealthPathways for the local Brisbane South region, and hope my contribution will be valuable in supporting my fellow local GPs provide best-practice care for their patients.

Former GP clinical editors

  • Dr Jim Griffin

    Dr Jim Griffin

    MBBS(Hons Qld), FRACGP, DRANZCOG, 
    FRACMA(ret.), Aust. Cert. 
    Civil Aviation Med. (Monash), MSCCA

    Read More

    The opportunity to be involved in the localization of HealthPathways for the SpotOnHealth project has been not only a great privilege, but also a great way to continue one of my long-term career interests, namely the continuing improvement of systems and resources which aim to improve patient care, and assist General Practitioners, hospital doctors and allied health practitioners.

    The importance of good communication and cooperation between both the General Practice community and hospital medical and other staff cannot be overstated, and HealthPathways aims for a similar plan of patient management for important health conditions. My own medical career of over 45 years has been diverse, with many years in Queensland Hospitals and medical administration, and about 18 years in General Practice.

    I have been privileged to see the issues of communication and co-operation from “both sides of the fence” having been Medical Superintendent of the Mackay Base Hospital, and in Metro South, the first Medical Superintendent of the QEII Jubilee Hospital (1980-1988) and then the Executive Director Medical Services of the Mater Public Hospitals (Adults, Mothers and the then Children’s, from 1988-1999). As a Life Member of the RACGP, I was privileged to serve on the RACGP Qld Board for 12 years, first as Honorary Secretary, and later as the State Corlis Fellow, a position which was an advocate for General Practice and liaised with Universities, and training bodies, and acted as a mentor for General Practice trainees.

    I have also served in the past on the Governing Councils of the Queensland Institute of Medical Research (now the QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute), the former Queensland Radium Institute, the UQ Medical Faculty Board, and more recently on the Queensland Health Radiation Advisory Council, and the Professional Services Review Panel of the Commonwealth Department of Health. In 2007, I was fortunate to be a member of a group of General Practitioner reviewing consultants to the 4th Edition of Professor John Murtagh’s textbook “General Practice”.

    The improvement of medical record and clinical information systems has remained a keen interest, and this has included improvement of the referral process between community General Practice and Public Hospital Outpatient Services. The SpotOnHealth HealthPathways project, while not intended to be a textbook, or to be obligatory to use, or to tell General Practitioners how to do their job, gives an up-to-date Specialist and peer-reviewed guideline resource for good patient care. Our team hopes you will find SpotOnHealth HealthPathways to be of assistance in your important work.

  • Dr Vincent Lee

    Dr Vincent Lee

    FRACGP, MBBS, BPharm

    Read More

    We live in an exciting time of rapid technological development that has quickly transformed the Art of Medicine. Information technology allows the modern General Practitioner to have access to a vast amount of information, which allows for better-informed clinical practice consistent with the highest quality and most up-to-date evidence. However, making use of that technology is an art in itself, and this is where my interests lie.

    There is a lot of information out there, but not a lot of it is crafted in such a way to be easily and effectively usable by a busy GP in Brisbane. What I love about HealthPathways is that it provides up-to-date clinical information in a localised context and a simple, easy-to-use format. It is a privilege to take part in this project and to use my skills in technology, communication and medicine to help develop a clinical tool that will, hopefully, be of service to my colleagues in the local Brisbane South community.

    Another key strength of HealthPathways is how much exposure it gives local services. As a GP who has trained in many different clinical settings (both in metropolitan and rural areas), I understand how difficult it is to have a grasp of the full breadth of local services available to aid in the treatment of any given condition.

    Hopefully these HealthPathways will help our colleagues have a better understanding of the local resources available, and thereby be able to provide even more excellent care to our patients. It has been an exciting journey working with the HealthPathways team to craft this clinical tool, and I hope it will serve you well in your practice of Modern Medicine.

  • Dr Scott Preston

    Dr Scott Preston

    MBBS FRACGP PG CertMedEd

    Read More

    As a GP and medical educator, I am excited by the potential of SpotOnHealth HealthPathways. The challenges for the modern GP extend far beyond the requirement for extensive clinical knowledge and skills. The contributing factors include rapid advances in medical knowledge, the ever changing evidence for management of diseases and delay in the translation of new evidence into practice.

    These medical knowledge challenges are compounded by increased medical complexity of patients, increased patient expectations, increased requirement for information technology in practice and the difficulties experienced in communication and handover of patients between primary care and hospital care. HealthPathways has the potential to simplify clinical information finding and referral processes for GPs, allowing a GP’s focus to be on the patient needs rather than the complexities of navigating the system.

    Through HealthPathways we have a one-stop shop that serves as an evidence-based, point-of-care knowledge and skills resource which is written by GPs for GPs that links with the local referral alternatives. This common-sense approach to information management backed up by a rigorous process facilitates best practice in primary care.