Clinical Care Options Announces New Head Of inPractice Africa

RESTON, Va., Nov. 1, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Clinical Care Options (CCO) and its wholly owned company inPractice Resources, LLC® (inPractice®) today announced the appointment of Samantha Parsons as General Manager, inPractice® Africa. Based in Johannesburg, South Africa, Ms. Parsons will be responsible for the development and implementation of the recently announced inPractice® Africa initiative, designed to support South African physicians and nurses in the management of HIV-infected and HIV/TB-coinfected patients.

CCO and inPractice® reach clinicians in more than 200 countries with expert content and leading-edge technology that delivers comprehensive medical education and clinical decision support online, through live programs, and via mobile devices.

This unique program, made possible by a public private partnership grant from USAID and grants from Abbott (ABT), Gilead (GILD), Janssen (JNJ) and Merck (MRK) pharmaceutical companies is being developed in cooperation with two leading South African organizations involved in HIV/AIDS medical education: the Foundation for Professional Development (FPD) and the University of the Witwatersrand (Wits). Ms. Parsons will work directly with these organizations in South Africa and, more broadly, will also work to expand the program across the continent through cooperation with other international agencies, governments and their ministries, healthcare systems, academic centers, medical societies, NGOs, and other entities.

The mission of inPractice® Africa is to provide physicians, nurses, and other healthcare professionals in resource-constrained settings with relevant, practical training and certification to support and improve the existing healthcare infrastructure, clinician education, and patient outcomes. Building upon CCO's existing inPractice® technology,f the program will add new mobile and offline capabilities to accommodate use in practice settings with limited or no Internet access. Content for the program is being developed with the support of an African faculty to address the particular challenges in care experienced across the continent.

"We are very pleased that Ms. Parsons has agreed to lead the inPractice® Africa team and bring her extensive design and implementation experience in Africa and the Middle East to ensure the success of this public private partnership USAID program in South Africa," said Dr. Jeffrey L Drezner, Managing  Director, Clinical Care Options and inPractice®. "We look forward to Samantha leading our expansion effort across the continent under a sustainable model that will significantly improve clinical outcomes across Africa."

Ms. Parsons has worked for the past 10 years at Chemonics International, Inc., managing large-scale development projects in Africa, Asia, and Eurasia. Most recently she served as Director, designing and implementing large USAID-funded programs in Afghanistan including land reform, conflict stabilization, agricultural development and gender issues. While at Chemonics she also led the design of an HIV/AIDS support program for South Africa, assessed the antiretroviral (ARV) drug supply chain management in Malawi, assisted in the design and development of a pharmaceutical supply chain PEPFAR program in Kenya, and assisted in the design of a "food by prescription" program for serving people living with HIV in Ethiopia.  She began her career at AMIDEAST where she provided field office support in the Middle East.

About Clinical Care Options and inPractice®
Clinical Care Options is a leader in the development of continuing education and decision support resources for healthcare professionals. Known for its innovative interactive programs and proprietary technology, the company creates superior original content for continuing medical education and information resources designed specifically for healthcare providers in the areas of HIV, hepatology, and hematology/oncology. Educational programs encompass a spectrum of interactive online and live formats that provide the latest scientific information and facilitate its application by healthcare professionals. The company's unique, evidence-based and peer-reviewed clinical decision support resource, inPractice®, brings this knowledge to the point of care by translating and distilling the constant stream of new information into practical guidance readily available in the clinical setting. 

For more information about Clinical Care Options visit www.clinicaloptions.com or email [email protected].

SOURCE Clinical Care Options