WMA Launches New Tuberculosis Course Application
The World Medical Association announced today the creation of a new application for tablet computers that will allow physicians to access a training course on the treatment of multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB).
The application, created by the WMA and the New Jersey Medical School Global Tuberculosis Institute, gives physicians the flexibility to access the course material at any time, even when they are discussing treatment options with their patients. The application was developed in collaboration with the World Health Organization with financial support from the Eli Lilly MDR-TB partnership.
Dr. Otmar Kloiber, Secretary General of the WMA, said: ‘This is a very exciting development and will enable physicians around the globe to improve their knowledge and skills in detecting and caring for multidrug-resistant TB patients without the need to plug into the Internet. The fact that the course is portable and can be accessed offline should be of enormous benefit particularly to physicians working in poorer parts of the world where the majority of TB cases are.’
He said MDR-TB was difficult to treat and represented a significant global health challenge. Despite the abundance of available knowledge on the disease, including WHO comprehensive guidelines on how to prevent, treat and control MDR-TB, translating knowledge into practice had proved to be difficult. It was because of this concern that the WMA launched some years ago a refresher course as a free online tool for physicians to learn and test their knowledge. Enabling physicians now to access this clinical care information on tablet computers offline was a huge step forward.
The new application contains the eight training modules which comprise the WMA’s course on MDR-TB. It is intended as an introduction to MDR-TB management and is consistent with the principles of the WHO Stop TB Strategy. The application, which will be accessible from the Google and iPhone app webpages, will be available on 10-inch screen tablets as well as smaller displays, including smartphones, and is being released for the Android platform. The Apple iPad version will also be available shortly.