This is the fourth in a series of posts to keep you up to date with the research projects we are involved with at Charlton Medical. Data from your visit may be used for this purpose. There are ethical and legal requirements for both researchers and GPs to protect patient privacy and safety and you will have been asked to consent to your medical information being used for research during your first consultation as a new patient. It is important for you to remember that you can always request that your data is not used for research purposes and that this will not impact the medical care that you will receive.
ASPREN is the National GP Influenza and Infectious Diseases Surveillance Network and provides state and Commonwealth departments of health with information about influenza-like illnesses and other conditions commonly seen in general practice. The project is currently funded by the Commonwealth Department of Health and directed through the Discipline of General Practice at The University of Adelaide.
When your doctor suspects that you may have a respiratory illness we submit de-identified data from your swabs to the ASPREN network, which, in turn, sends the tests onto the World Health Organisation where they are analysed for the emergence of new subtypes and oseltamivir resistant strains. The data gives the Government a valuable warning in the event of a new pandemic. You can read ASPREN reports here and follow them on Facebook.
Charlton Medical is proud to have partnered with the ASPREN Project and its predecessor, VicSPIN since 2002, and are one of more than 200 practices nationwide. For many years we were the northern-most practice in Victora supplying data on disease outbreaks. You can read more about the research Charlton Medical is involved with in the resource tab of the website. Please feel free to speak to our team if you would like more information about how we keep your personal and health information private.
