Access the MapLast updated 01-05-12
Home

Using the Map

Map of Medicine provides a number of quick reference guides, covering topics from using the Map, to editing and publishing maps.

You can also find some commonly asked questions below. 

South of England: Athens

North, Midlands and East: Smartcards

Publication

Legal Responsibility

South of England: Athens

What is Athens?

Athens is an access management system provided by Eduserv, a not-for-profit ICT services group, and used by NHS Evidence to control access to the resources it has available. It is used by Map of Medicine users in the South of England to access the Map.

How can I get an Athens account?

There is a link on the Map of Medicine logon page to the NHS Evidence website where you can register for an Athens account.

Fill out a short form and, if you register from a computer connected to the N3 (NHS broadband) network, you should receive an e-mail containing your new Athens account details almost instantly. If you register from a home computer, you may find it takes longer for your Athens account to be approved.

I cannot remember my Athens user name or password / I cannot register for an Athens account / I am unable to log into my Athens account

It is your NHS organisation that administers your Athens account, and so the Map of Medicine is unable to provide support for your Athens account itself.

Your Athens logon is administered by your local Athens administrator, typically your librarian. They are the people you need to talk to for Athens user name or password queries. You can find their contact details here.

North, Midlands and East: Smartcards

What is a smartcard?

NHS Smartcards help control who accesses NHS services and what level of access that they can have.

They are similar to a chip and PIN credit or debit card, but are more secure. A user's Smartcard is printed with their name, photograph and unique user identity number.

What is N3?

N3 is the national network that provides fast, broadband networking services to the NHS.

Publication 

What happens when I initiate a publication request?

The release will be locked against editing or other changes until the request has been executed and publication is complete. The publication event will also create a new working release. The lock will be removed and a new release available for editing once the release has been published.

How will the users know that a publication is underway?

Once publication has been requested and the release is locked, a message informing users about the release status will be displayed to those with editing rights.

Legal Responsibility

Who has legal liability for Map Pathways?

Map of Medicine has medico-legal responsibility for care maps that have not been clinically localised.

The information provided within the Map is subject to clinical judgement by a suitably qualified clinician. The duty of care for a patient always rests with the treating clinician as the individual patient context will vary.

Where a care map is clinically localised, medico-legal responsibility sits with the authority localising the map.

Is there medico-legal cover?

Map of Medicine is insured against claims relating to clinical errors or omissions that are directly attributed to the Map.

What if our community mandates Map Pathways for treatment?

Care maps have been through a sign-off process that validates the process used rather than the individual maps. The maps themselves have been peer-reviewed and signed off.

Errors that are a result of production can be jointly owned by Map of Medicine Ltd and the local health community. However before maps are mandated by the health community, they will have been reviewed by a clinical governance group to ensure the protocols match those required by their community. In that case, where production errors have caused the map to change after the health community review, medico legal responsibility rests with Map of Medicine Ltd.

What if mandated Pathways have been clinically localised?

The local health community has to take responsibility for any map that is clinically localised. It must not publish a map until it has been approved by the community's clinical governance authority and therefore must take medico-legal responsibility.

Do GPs using the Map have medico-legal cover?

A GP has a duty of care as a physician and therefore the responsibility for diagnosis and treatment of any patient. Map of Medicine provides no more and no less cover than any journal article or text book that may be used.