RESTON, Va., Dec. 13, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Clinical Care Options (CCO), a global leader in education for healthcare professionals, announced its partnership with the Australasian Society for HIV Medicine (ASHM). With more than 1000 members, ASHM is the leading Australasian organization representing the medical and health sector in HIV, viral hepatitis, and related areas and mandated by the Australian government to certify primary care clinicians for competency as prescribers of antiretroviral treatments for HIV and viral hepatitis.

The partnership will provide ASHM members and their prescribers with increased access to CCO's proprietary online educational platform and comprehensive state-of-the-art continuing medical education (CME) activities, resources, and clinical updates. In addition, ASHM members and prescribers will now have the ability to manage the maintenance of their certification requirements directly through the CCO Web site.

CCO provides an array of unique, innovative, and interactive online medical education programs for healthcare professionals on a wide range of management challenges in the fields of HIV and viral hepatitis. In addition, inPractice™ HIV and inPractice™ Hepatology are free, online, personalized, original, searchable point-of-care textbooks and associated databases that aid both specialists and primary care clinicians in making optimal management decisions before or during patient encounters. Authored by world-renown experts and continually updated, inPractice™ is now used by more than 50,000 HIV, hepatitis, and oncology clinicians and is accessed at inPractice.com.

"We are pleased to be working closely with ASHM and support their goal to ensure the optimal care of patients with HIV, HBV, and HCV in their part of the world," said Jeffrey Drezner, MD, Managing Director of CCO and inPractice®. "As evidenced by our inPractice® Africa program, we are committed to delivering critical new clinical information and educational resources to clinicians worldwide, and our new relationship with ASHM is another important step in achieving that goal."

In addition to easily accessing CCO's educational content, ASHM members and prescribers will be able to earn and track ASHM CME points in a personal database on the CCO Web site, with prescribers having  this information sent directly back to ASHM for inclusion in their My ASHM database and maintenance of certification.

"We are pleased to report that the ASHM Board has approved this partnership with CCO. This arrangement is designed to provide ASHM members—importantly, our community-based HIV and viral hepatitis prescribers—with direct access to CCO's outstanding comprehensive resources and educational activities directly via the ASHM Web site," said Dr. Edwina Wright, President, Australasian Society for HIV Medicine. "This partnership is designed to provide our clinical members and prescribers with the information they need to improve patient outcomes in Australia and our neighboring countries."

About Australasian Society for HIV Medicine
The Australasian Society for HIV Medicine works collaboratively and in partnership to prevent HIV, viral hepatitis, and sexually transmissible infections and to preserve and protect the health and choices of those infected. It aims to function as a cohesive and inclusive group of professionals advancing its vision in a skilled, informed, compassionate, and appropriate way. For further information about ASHM, visit its Web site at ashm.org.au.

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 programs and proprietary technology, the company creates original continuing medical education and information resources designed specifically for healthcare providers in the areas of HIV, hepatology/gastroenterology, and hematology/ oncology. Educational programs encompass a spectrum of interactive online and live formats that not only provide the latest scientific information but also support the understanding, confidence, application, and competence of healthcare professionals. The company's online clinical decision support tool, inPractice®, brings this knowledge to the point of care by translating and distilling the constant stream of new information into practical knowledge readily available in the practice setting. 

For more information about the company and its programs, visit clinicaloptions.com.

SOURCE Clinical Care Options