1. Presenter: Jon Brassey
3rd May 2012
ATTRACT – a system that provides rapid evidence based summaries to clinical questions
Insert name of presentation on Master Slide
Presenter: Jon Brassey

2. ATTRACT ATTRACT is a clinical Q&A service for primary care in Wales.
Started in Gwent in 1997 after a large needs assessment of GPs.
Rapid access to nuggets of evidence
No critical appraisal or searching skills
Conclusion: Answer our questions!
Jon Brassey

3. ATTRACT
Deemed to be a success, with very high user feedback, and moved to all-Wales in 2002
The service has answered over 3,000 questions
Majority available on
Jon Brassey

4. ATTRACT dilemma
Clinicians wanted ‘answers’ within a clinically relevant time period
Systematic review no good - therefore anything less is not ‘gold standard’
Pragmatic approach of doing better than a GP would do
Jon Brassey

5. ATTRACT Process Question received and clarified
Rapid search undertaken:
Cochrane Library, TRIP Database, Medline etc.
Results are sifted, based on the ‘hierarchy’ of evidence
Information summarised onto a side of A4 and ed back
Jon Brassey

6. Example questions
Should every patient be on penicillin lifelong post-splenectomy?
Which is the best antibiotic (and dose) if the patient is allergic to penicillin?
Both answered using information from the Working Party of the British Committee for Standards in Haematology Task Force
Jon Brassey

7. Example question
Which antibiotics are safe to use when a patient is on long term Methotrexate?
We found no specific guidance so referred the user to the local medicines information unit.
Jon Brassey

8. Recent innovation Working with Cwm Taf Health Board
Service to link GPs with consultants
Allows highly patient specific Qs to be answered
Possibly a model for antimicrobials?
Jon Brassey

9. Local guidance Another important area – local guidance
ATTRACT hasn’t been good in this area
Clearly a need to improve
Ideas?
Jon Brassey

10. jon.brassey@wales.nhs.uk www.attract.wales.nhs.uk
Contact details
Jon Brassey