Frequently Asked Questions
​Who owns and operates OrthoCompass?
OrthoCompass is provided by EBM Analytics Pty Ltd (ABN 38 612 954 935) using a platform provided under licence by EBM Technologies Pty Ltd (ABN 74 664 616 460).
Does OrthoCompass require access to my practice management system (PMS)?
Yes. OrthoCompass is driven by the list of patients that are exported from your PMS on a daily basis to ensure the most up to date record list is available. At other times, the team needs to access your PMS to gather further information about an individual’s situation so the system makes contact at the right times, with the right combination of questionnaires.
The OrthoCompass team will require a suitable method to access your PMS including a designated login to the software, as well as remote access if the PMS is server-hosted.
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What about if I share my PMS with other clinicians?
The implications of sharing the same platform to manage your practice will depend on i) the software in use ii) the contractual arrangements between the software vendor and the practice and iii) the relationship between the users within the practice.
Where a common database is used to organise practice data, the degree to which the visibility of non-participating surgeons patients can be limited is variable between the available PMS’.
Although the OrthoCompass system has in-built filters to exclude patients in the care of non-participating surgeons, it is theoretically possible that the support team would have access to all records. We recommend a discussion with the relevant stakeholders in your shared environment and providing them with our Security Information Sheet and Privacy Policy. It is also recommended that an NDA is completed between EBM Analytics Pty Ltd and the practice to provide extra confidence to other members of your team.
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What security assurances do I have for engaging with the platform and the supporting team?
The data held within OrthoCompass is stored within Google Data Centres and accessible through a web interface provided by Wix. These providers provide a high level of security including being ISO27001 compliant. Further details are available on the Google and Wix Security whitepapers.
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Is the use of OrthoCompass covered by Cyber Security insurance?
Yes, the service and system provided is covered by a Cyber Security insurance policy held by EBM Analytics in the event of a data breach or illegal activities.
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Can I use my data in OrthoCompass for research purposes, and are there any requirements around authorship?
Yes, you can use your own data for producing research output as long as the necessary ethical requirements have been met. Please note that separate HREC approvals have been sought for a centralised registry of OrthoCompass instances (PROPELLER-ORTHO) and this may be of interest to those considering research activities.
For Tier 1 customers, OrthoCompass will provide an export of all the data associated with their own practice within a standard format. Tier 2 customers will be able to select a number of curated datasets for export in addition to the standard outputs.
Members of the EBM Analytics team supporting OrthoCompass are not required to be included as authors unless a separate engagement has been undertaken for assistance with the publication.
We encourage potential researchers to appropriately cite the OrthoCompass system used in the collection of the data. We also encourage everyone to adopt Open Science principles and consider pre-printing their protocol and findings derived from their OrthoCompass datasets.
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How often is the data within OrthoCompass updated?
The dashboards within OrthoCompass update every 15 minutes with any new data received from the practice database.