Australian Government Department of Veterans Affairs; Australian Government Department of Health
Health care can be complex. Clear communication can help both patients and health services to understand their options and achieve best-practice clinical care.
Biotext specialises in taking complex clinical content and translating it into effective communication products for patients and health professionals.
For example, the Australian Government Department of Veterans’ Affairs developed a new treatment cycle to improve communication among healthcare providers and increase quality of care for clients. We developed clear guidelines, forms and fact sheets to help health professionals, their staff and DVA clients understand and apply the new model.
We also developed communication materials around the use of ‘chemical restraint’ – using medicines to control challenging behaviours – in aged care. Antipsychotics and benzodiazepines are often used inappropriately as a form of chemical restraint. We partnered with UX experts Folk, a stakeholder consulting specialist and the Department of Health to devise new messaging for prescribers, nurses, personal care workers, families, aged care providers and pharmacists. The result was clear messages and communication products to help guide each audience in the best care for people living in aged care.
In a subsequent project, we built on this work, partnering with Folk and the department to develop simple, practical and visually engaging fact sheets for families and personal care workers: Informed consent: what families need to know and 3 simple checks to support your residents.
Our role:
Content analysis and strategy – we reviewed existing materials and helped facilitate stakeholder workshops that explored how chemical restraint is currently used. We then used these insights to advise on potential approaches to the communication materials
Writing and editing – we developed communication messages and content, tailoring as required for general or specialist audiences
Design and infographics – we helped to design the layout of the material, to produce diagrams and decision trees to help people navigate the information, and a visually cohesive suite of publications