|
Date of Report:
10/2005
Source:
Texas/Oklahoma AETC
Background and Purpose
Clinicians treating HIV often face the daunting task of individualizing treatment in light of many clinical manifestations and co-morbidities. Many guidelines have been written and tools developed to address this challenging disease. One clinician seeking to clarify treatment options is Naiel Nassar, MD, the lead editor of the current Parkland Pocket Guide. Dr. Nassar, an infectious disease physician with 15 years of HIV treatment experience, wrote his first guide to HIV care in 1993 and published the guide each year until 1999, when he partnered with HIV experts at Parkland Health and Hospital System (PHHS) in Dallas. PHHS has been treating people with HIV since the onset of the epidemic. The PHHS HIV Services Department is now a major treatment and research site, and with its medical center affiliates, the University of Texas Southwestern (UTSW) Medical Center and the Veterans Affairs (VA) North Texas Health Care System, actively follows approximately 5,000 HIV-infected individuals. The cumulative HIV treatment experience of the Parkland Pocket Guide editors (Dr. Nassar, Philip Keiser, MD and Clark R. Gregg, MD) is more than 55 years.
Development and Production of the Guide
To effectively address the many facets of HIV, the editors combined their expertise with that of colleagues whose sub-specialties (e.g., endocrinology, psychiatry, dermatology, pulmonology, gastroenterology, neurology) add important perspectives to HIV care. The PHHS network, including the TX/OK AETC, made this process particularly effective. Over 20 clinicians contributed chapters that address HIV topics or clinical manifestations from the perspective of their specialties. Each chapter is designed for use as a training module, and content is formatted using a standard template. The editorial team, including the TX/OK AETC Training Manager, met biweekly for over a year to review and edit each chapter. The editors' collective HIV experience produced multi-disciplinary chapter content, with extrapolated subspecialty information coupled with an HIV treatment perspective.
Lessons Learned
The TX/OK AETC chose to self-publish, using a printing company to format, index and print the guide. One of the major challenges was the lack of compatible software for final editing. While standard word processing was sufficient for initial submissions, formatting differences between standard and professional printing software created difficulties. TX/OK AETC eventually purchased a desktop version of the professional printing software to facilitate future publishing efforts. If resources had allowed, one dedicated typist would have also improved the efficiency of this effort. While self-publishing is less costly (each 244 page pocket guide cost under $2.00), the human resource effort is substantial, and the cost/benefit of self-publishing vs. professional publishing should be considered with a resource like this.
One of the most beneficial outcomes of this project is the comprehensive content of the Pocket Guide, reflecting recommendations from sub-specialties as well as HIV-expert experience. The modular content can be used to develop curricula and training tools. Additionally, the back cover provides a quick reference guide. Thus far, over 2,000 copies of the Parkland Pocket Guide have been distributed nationwide.
To obtain up to 10 free copies of this resource, please send an e-mail request to Tx.ok.aetc@parknet.pmh.org or call 1-877-ASK-AETC.
|
