It is with some degree of sadness and trepidation that I announce the necessity to commercialise the DCP.
This has become necessary due to the high costs involved in creating and maintaining the DCP over the last two years.
I can no longer afford foot the costs alone.
Costs have reached $30,000 and this does not include the thousands of hours spent developing the DCP.
Therefore I have made the decision to commercialise the DCP.
The DCP will soon (when I manage to implement subscriptions) require a small subscription licence fee for advanced features. Basic functionality of the DCP will remain free. Non Providers (those users without provider numbers) will not be affected by this change. I have setup pages which detail subscription information and the features affected.
I would like to see the DCP used widely and the subscription fees will be used to cover ongoing costs and promote the DCP.
To reach a broader audience the DCP requires some form of promotion. Promoting the DCP, todate has been largely left to end users. Apart from a few sessions at APCC conferences and at the Monash, Knox and Canberra local divisions of General Practice I have not promoted the DCP. Promoting the DCP for use by GP's is a difficult task without support of existing vendors, divisions of practice or the RACGP. Commercialisation of the DCP will open up the possibility to advertise the DCP in a more traditional sense.
Further development of the DCP can continue only if I am able to commit my most precious resource - my time. This will be much easier if I am able to allocate time without detracting heavily from personal time.
Obtaining assistance in developing the DCP and performing clinical Trials will require funding. Commercialisation will help the DCP progress forward with these goals.
There are many more features on the drawing board. Some of these may change our ideas and methods of implementing preventive care. To bring these to fruition, commercialisation will provide me with added incentive and means.
I believe it is in the best interest of the DCP current and potential users for the DCP to progress down this path.
Yours Sincerely
Dr Anton Knieriemen