A message from your IHealth Medical Site Leads, Dr. Kellie Whitehill and Dr. Pooya Kazemi:
In these last few days before Go-Live for CPOE at Victoria General Hospital, Gorge Road Health Centre and South Island Surgical Centre, we want to take a moment to offer our sincere thanks to medical staff. Your dedication, patience and hard work in preparing for this significant change is recognized and appreciated. As we begin working with new tools and workflows that will positively impact the delivery of safe, consistent and high-quality patient care, remember that we are in this together!
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW:
Go-Live date and time for VGH, GRH and South Island Surgical Centre: Saturday, September 14, 2024, 6 a.m.
Victoria General Hospital (VGH), Gorge Road Health Centre (GRH) sub-acute units and South Island Surgical Centre (SISC) are the next South Island sites scheduled to go live with computerized provider order entry (CPOE) and other advanced tools in the electronic health record.
24/7 at-the-elbow and phone support: Beginning at 6 a.m. Saturday, September 14, medical staff at VGH, SISC and GRH will find support when and where they need it. Get at-the-elbow support from Physician Peer Mentors rounding in purple shirts or from any of the support team member wearing coloured shirts. They can provide help or quickly find someone to assist you.
You can also call IHealth Central Support 24/7 at 1-855-755-7001 or 28555 with questions or requests for assistance.
“Band-Aid” desktop tool will connect you to support: Look for the “Band-Aid” support tool on desktop computers. This tool is designed to help staff request quick, at-the-elbow support directly from their desktop during IHealth Go-Live events. Look for the Band-Aid widget tucked up at the top of your computer screen (becomes visible when you move your mouse over it).
Learn more about the Band-Aid tool in this one-pager.
Verbal orders require discretion: While CPOE reduces the need for verbal orders, it does not eliminate it entirely. Providers should use discretion with verbal orders and familiarize themselves with the Orders Management Policy guiding their use. Navigate the grey areas by working in partnership with the nursing team and read examples of when verbal orders are appropriate and inappropriate.
WHAT YOU NEED TO DO:
Complete this checklist for CPOE readiness: Medical staff at VGH, GRH and SISC can use this handy checklist to assess your readiness for the IHealth CPOE Go-Live at your site.
Prepare for clinical cutover this week: actions for providers: Cutover is the process of transferring patient orders from paper to the electronic health record (EHR) and takes place as close as possible to Go-Live to ensure information is as current as possible. The Cutover team (composed of pharmacists, nursing with orders training, and specific pre-trained physicians) will be converting the paper orders into electronic orders September 12 through 14.
Actions required of providers in the week before Go-Live include the following:
- Physicians are asked to “clean up orders” (orders hygiene) – discontinuing PRNs not being used the week prior to September 14.
- The Cutover team will place a yellow “delta” sheet on the front of the chart for any final written orders needed before Go-Live.
- Paper written Order Sets can be used until Go-Live and should be placed on top of the yellow “delta” sheet.
- On September 14, physicians should review the electronic orders found in the Orders Profile section and make changes as required.
- Co-sign all orders placed on your behalf.
Join a “refresher” skill sharpener for medical staff working at VGH/GRH/SISC: Physicians at VGH, Gorge Road or at South Island Surgical Centre are strongly encouraged to attend one of the “refresher” skill sharpener sessions, which will take place via Zoom and run one hour. Session dates/times vary by department and take place until September 13. You will be remunerated up to two hours of your time at the non-clinical education rate.
To register, please email ihealtheducation@islandhealth.ca, or call the Provider Education and Experience team (ProEX) at 250-713-0484 (Rhonda) or 250-588-4036 (Chloe).
Personalization sessions for VGH September 3-20: Get one-to-one support as you set up your provider preferences and key settings at a personalization session before Go-Live at VGH, GRH and SISC.
- When: 7 a.m. to 4 p.m.
- Where: VGH Surgical Lounge, Physician Lounge, Engagement Lab, Perinatal area (and rounding)
- Length: 30-60 minutes
Drop in for a session or, to schedule a session, email ihealtheducation@islandhealth.ca.
Visit Engagement Labs for practice and support: ProEX staff are again at Engagement Labs Monday through Friday, 7 a.m. to 3 p.m.
- VGH Engagement Lab: S275, next to physician lounge
- RJH Engagement Lab: Royal Block 203
Many medical staff comment on the value of receiving one-to-one training with a ProEX member. It’s an opportunity to go into greater detail and answer specific questions around how to use CPOE tools with your specialized workflow.
HOW WE’RE MAKING PROGRESS:
Drug dosing weight new in electronic health record: In the electronic health record (EHR) at fully activated sites, Weight Dosing is replacing Weight Measured in the banner bar and flow to dose calculator functions. This change is especially important for critical care and pediatric environments, supporting appropriate dosing of weight-based medications and infusions. This metric is separate from the patient’s measured weight, which may fluctuate daily and interfere with the accuracy of infusion/dosing functions.
Depending on the care area and your patients’ demographics, this Weight Dosing may be copied from the Weight Measured OR be entered manually via a CPOE order. For more information, please contact your IHealth Specialty Physician Lead.
RESOURCES
- IHealth Medical Staff webpage
- What’s Changing for Medical Staff – one-pager [PDF]
- CPOE one-pager [PDF]
- My IHealth Journey for Medical Staff [PDF]
- Patient Talking Points [requires log-in]
CONTACT IHEALTH:
If you have feedback, questions or concerns regarding the IHealth project, please contact:
- Dr. Kellie Whitehill, IHealth Medical Site Lead, VGH – ph. 250-217-4995
- Dr. Pooya Kazemi, IHealth Medical Site Lead, RJH – ph. 250-857-1670
- Dr. Eric Shafonsky, Associate Chief Medical Information Officer – ph. 250-516-7234
- Email cmioihealthoffice@islandhealth.ca