January 12, 2009
 |
Lori Chartier, Director, Clinical Transformation and
E-Health, is working with clinicians in the Region to customize a clinical information system.
|
Saskatoon Health Region is embarking upon an ambitious transformation program that will use technology as a change agent. The goal of the program is to implement an electronic health record (EHR) to improve patient access, safety and outcomes—a key component of the Region’s strategic plan.
Deploying an EHR is a complex undertaking. One of the many initiatives supporting it is the implementation of a clinical information system – Sunrise Clinical Manager (SCM).
Evidence demonstrates that clinical information systems have the potential to transform care delivery. If well-designed and adopted by clinicians, the systems improve workflow, patient safety and outcomes, and contribute to efficiencies.
Lori Chartier, Director, Clinical Transformation and E-Health, is the Region’s lead on the initiative. It’s her job to ensure that the design process for the SCM is structured to respect clinicians and their workflows, and allow them to lead the design process.
“This is so much more than just installing a system. We need to create as well as support changes in practice. Clinicians need to think about SCM as fundamental to clinical practice rather than as add-ons to their work. They need to feel ownership of the system, not look at it as something we did to them. Most importantly, they need to see the clinical information system as something that can actually improve their work and have a positive impact on patient care,” she says.
Chartier’s work is supported by her participation in the Canadian Health Services Research Foundation (CHSRF) EXTRA Fellows program. EXTRA is an acronym for Executive Training for Research Application (see their website for details).
Last year, EXTRA participant criteria were expanded to include team participation. “Almost half of this year’s participants are members of a team. These are individuals already committed to the concept of interdisciplinary collaboration, and it adds a wonderful sense of collegiality to the group discussions,” she says.
Chartier will complete the two-year EXTRA fellowship in early 2010. She is currently collecting data and reviewing literature to inform the direction of her project. She says “What I am hoping for at the end of my project is to design a process that so tightly integrates system design and clinician workflow that clinicians won’t be able to imagine doing their work any other way”.
The EXTRA Fellows program has provided the tools for Chartier to bring this project to fruition. Two mentors — an academic and an organizational decision maker — provide regular guidance and support. The two-week residency session at the beginning of the program set a solid foundation for her project work.
“It’s been a tremendous learning opportunity. The faculty are amazing, and the focus on evidence-based decision making has directly affected how I do my job,” says Chartier.
Chartier is one of several Regional employees benefiting from the EXTRA program. Employees interested in EXTRA or who just want to find out more about the program can visit CHSRF’s website, but hurry, the next EXTRA application deadline is March 3, 2009.
|
