Approximately 800 cardiac surgery cases are done each year at Royal Jubilee Hospital and it is standard for the anesthesiologist to perform an intraoperative transesophageal echocardiogram (TEE). However, when the TEE shows an interesting finding which poses significant diagnostic challenges, there has been no formal mechanism to communicate this more […]
Read moreHow do you improve your management of critical medical emergencies, if you don’t face them often? This challenge faces most medical departments. Many have pointed to the value of simulation to enable staff and clinicians to practice their skills in a non-critical context. However, logistical and administrative barriers can present […]
Read moreIn October 2018, hospitalist Dr. Shauna Tierney was in the audience when Island Health’s Geo 4 Executive Director Marko Peljhan presented a challenge to the South Island Hospitalists: By 2040, Victoria will need another 500 hospital beds to keep up with the demands of the population, but how they would […]
Read moreIrritable Bowel Disease (IBD) Rounds, held monthly, were seen as a chance for all medical professionals involved in IBD care to engage with each other to discuss diagnosis, treatment, and the unique challenges of management on Vancouver Island. Dr. Dustin Loomes accessed SIFEI funding to host a monthly meeting: A […]
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Dr. David Cook and Dr. Jean Maskey thought they were embarking upon a crucial updating of clinical order sets (COS) in preparation for iHealth. They embarked upon their project, funded jointly by the Health System Redesign and Facility Engagement funding, with an aim of reaching out to Hospitalists, community family […]
Read moreSouth Island Physicians have been hard at work on their engagement and quality improvement projects, making changes that impact on the quality of patient care. They have also been getting their hard work into print. Two South Island Physician groups have just had their work featured in peer reviewed publications. […]
Read moreOn February 25th 2020 general and specialist physicians, allied health professionals, and others interested in promoting engagement and quality improvement in health gathered in Vancouver for the Joint Collaborative Committees’ “Creating Connections for Health” conference. The event was an opportunity to showcase numerous examples of how physicians, community organizations, and […]
Read moreWhen a sick patient arrives in the emergency room, are medications prescribed effective and cost efficient? Pharmacist Richard Wanbon, ER Physician Jason Wale and their project group wondered if a deeper dive into the peer-reviewed literature would offer up any clear-cut opportunities for standardization of prescribing, particularly in relation to […]
Read moreDr. Duncan Jacks wanted to make it possible for patients coming into the hospital for hip and knee surgery to return home on the same day. This is made possible by advancement in surgical techniques and better perioperative pain protocols but has not yet been the practice in Victoria. Getting […]
Read moreIt is well acknowledged that a minority of patients experience a disproportionate amount of morbidity and, as a result, use a disproportionate amount of acute care resources. Dr. Spencer Cleave advanced an ambitious plan to generate a High Complexity Care Team (HCCT) in the South Island to care for these […]
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