A faster login process and other improvements are ways the Clinical Information System (CIS) support team is enhancing the system’s per‐formance and end‐user ex‐perience.

“I'm happy to have helped implement the new opti‐mized login across our hospi‐tals,” said Joe Ryan, who serves as technical lead on the CIS operations team. “By reducing the time and effort required to access patient information, we're making it easier for our health care professionals to provide the best care possible."

Two enhanced methods of logging‐in to work stations

and tablets have been de‐ployed. Other recent improve‐ments include hardware and

network speed upgrades as well as interface enhance‐ments – with the launch of

patient summaries – which reduce the time required to find vital patient information.

These improvements have reduced the time it takes to access the CIS after turning on a computer, Ryan noted. As a result, password‐related calls to the ITSS Service Center have decreased by almost 50 per cent, and the time of each call has also decreased.

The CIS team will continue to improve the system’s per‐formance and usability. The team welcomes any feedback about how the system can be further improved; feedback can be provided by calling the service center at 620‐3600.

January 2013 Volume 3 Issue 1

Improvements boost CIS performance

Events engage families in long­term care journey

Joe Ryan, technical lead on the CIS Operations team, speaks with QEH emergency department physician Dr. Chris Lantz about improvements to the CIS.

Family nights at Prince Edward and Beach Grove homes are proving popular with residents and family members alike and may become regular events. "These Family Connection events are a cornerstone of our developing family‐engagement strategy," said Andrew Mac‐Dougall, administrator of both long‐term care facilities. "We recognize that person‐centred care and quality improvement must involve a crucial partnership with the stakeholders who are so important to the resident's life experience – their loved ones.” More than 70 attended a session for

families at Prince Edward Home last fall and another 100 attended the Beach Grove Home event in December. The focus of the event is two‐fold: deliver pertinent education and elicit feedback about how to grow the relationship with them, for the ultimate benefit to the resi‐dents. Similar activities are underway across Health PEI’s long‐term care facilities, and are intended to become part of regular operations.

"We're very encouraged by this interest so far,” MacDougall said, “and it certainly

augurs well for the initiative's aims going forward."

Nearly 100 family members packed Beach Grove Home for its successful Family Connec‐

tion Night in December

Submit input on Health PEI’s strategic plan by Jan. 31 @ www.healthpei.ca/mrc

Protecting the personal information of the patients, clients and residents in our care is the responsibility of every Health PEI staff member and physician. “Just because you have the ability to ac‐cess information doesn’t mean that you should,” said Marina Fay, privacy and information access coordinator. “Treat the health records of your patients, cli‐ents and residents with the same care that you would expect your own infor‐mation to be treated.” Health records must only be accessed if it is required to do your job, This applies to any information, whether in electronic or paper format. Do: Respect the privacy and confidential‐ity of all patients/clients/residents

Protect electronic information with a strong password (not your dog’s name or your child’s name or a birth date)

Do not: Access patient/client/resident infor‐mation if you are just curious

Access health records of family, friends, neighbors, persons of interest if you are not providing care

Share passwords and user names

A note of caution: electronic systems are audited, so accessing health information records inappropriately will subject you to disciplinary action ranging from a warning to dismissal from employment.

Our journey toward a new collaborative model of care (CMOC) began in 2009 when more than 80 staff came to‐gether to do two things: look at how care was being coordi‐nated and delivered across the province; and make rec‐ommendations on how to develop a more collaborative approach to person‐centered care. We have come a long way since our original showcase sites in 2010‐11 (QEH Unit 3, PCH Surgery/Restorative, Wedgewood Manor, Kings County Memorial Hospital, and Home Care‐Summerside). Today more than 20 sites have implemented CMOC. Although there have been challenges, there have been many successes. RNs are tak‐

ing on more challenging roles leading interprofessional teams, LPNs are dispensing medication and performing health assessments, and PCWs are working as part of the care team in hospitals. There are more front‐line workers in CMOC sites providing care to those we serve, and collabora‐tion between health‐care pro‐viders is increasing. We have much work left in order to achieve the full bene‐fits of the new model. We need to move beyond our early focus on staff mix to‐ward the development of the full collaborative team, includ‐ing the patient and family. I encourage staff to continue to learn about the benefits of CMOC and to implement some of the tools and strate‐gies outlined in a recent work‐

shop – some of which are highlighted on the opposite page of this issue of The Health Beat. Congratulations to those staff who have led the way on CMOC. Moving forward large change initiatives like CMOC can be very challeng‐ing and adds additional work to your already hectic days. Your commitment to this work is commendable. Thank you, on behalf of all Island‐ers.

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Access private health information only if it’s required

The Health Beat… Did you know that all past issues of The Health Beat are

available on The Manager’s

Resource Center: www.healthpei.ca/mrc (click on “Did You Hear?”)

Your collaboration continues to show benefits By Dr. Richard Wedge, Interim CEO

Dr. Richard Wedge,

Interim CEO Health PEI

page|3

“Huddles” are fast becoming one of the most effective communication tools used to improve collaboration among patient‐care teams. These frequent, short brief‐ings are helping nursing teams at Kings County Memorial Hospital (KCMH) stay in‐formed and are improving their ability to take a proactive approach to patient needs. KCMH nurses have said that since huddles began they are more aware of one anothers’ roles and which patients are independent or need extra time and effort. Huddles and other communi‐cation topics were highlighted

at a recent Collaborative Model of Care and Utiliza‐tion Management integra‐tion workshop. Another presentation challenged participants to think about how their own communica‐tion styles impact others. Attention to our words, our nonverbal actions and “body language”, and active listening are all important to being a good communicator. Focusing on the issue and not the personality – espe‐cially in those conversations that are “intense” or “crucial” – will immediately improve your face‐to‐face communica‐tions.

Groups aim for better collaboration between professionals

Improved collaboration between differ‐ent health‐system professions as part of the collaborative model of care project is the goal of an interprofessional practice working group. The group will develop a plan to enhance collaboration between professionals at a par‐ticular location through four core competencies: role clarification, interpro‐fessional conflict reso‐lution; collaborative leadership, and team functioning. Group members are Kathy Jones (chair), Margie Kays, Kelley Rayner, Heather Rix, Faye King‐don, Pam Berrigan,

Shelley Woods, Iain Smith, Diana DeLong, and Tanya Fitzpatrick. Once developed, the plan will be piloted at two Health PEI sites to foster a col‐laborative team approach to person‐centred care. This will ultimately help

achieve optimal health outcomes for Islanders accessing the system. For further information, visit www.cihc.ca.

Huddles are helping to improve communication within teams

Engaged in a “huddle” at KCMH are (from left) Sandy Travis, Coralee Compton, Joshua Poole, and Elaine MacLennan (seated).

COLLABORATIVE MODEL OF CARE: A CHECK UP

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Dr. Brian Goldman, veteran ER doctor and host of CBC’s “White Coat, Black Art” will headline this year’s Atlantic Health Quality and Patient Safety Learning Exchange, which returns May 14 and 15 in Moncton.

The annual event is a one‐of‐a‐kind opportunity for front‐line

providers to learn from each other about the latest patient safety and quality improve‐ment efforts and results from acute, continuing care, and community sectors.

“People walk away from this event with concrete ideas, tools and resources that they can apply directly to their own

patient safety and quality im‐provement work,” said Janet Hodder, Health PEI Quality and Risk manager.

Other program highlights in‐clude a story of harm told from the patient’s perspective, and a town‐hall panel on citi‐zen engagement and patient safety accountability featuring

healthcare executives.

Registration is $175 (plus ac‐commodations) with an early bird savings of $25 if you regis‐ter before April 1. Information and registration is available at www.saferhelathcarenow.ca.

To recognize the work being done to improve the quality of our care and the safety of our patients across the health sys‐tem, the Health PEI Board of Directors – like the Queen Elizabeth and Prince County hospitals – established a Lead‐ership Excellence in Quality and Safety Award. The recipi‐ents of this inaugural award were recognized at Health PEI’s annual general meeting.

Health PEI Quality and Safety Award (Group): Provincial Diabetes Team

Health PEI Quality and Safety Award (Individual): Kennie Martin, manager of Cardio‐

Respiratory Services at the QEH

The Queen Elizabeth and Prince County Hospital Quality and Patient Safety Awards were presented during Cana‐dian Patient Safety Week in November.

QEH Quality and Patient Safety Award Recipient: Margie Burns, clinical educa‐tor for ICU/CCU

PCH Quality and Patient Safety Award Recipient: PCH team of clinical nursing educa‐tors.

Patient information had the potential to be missed when mothers and babies were transitioned from the PCH’s Maternal Child Care Unit to Public Health Nursing, so a staff‐driven improvement pro‐ject aimed to improve the information transfer process.

“The work was successful because it identified and ana‐

lyzed the existing process, reduced inefficiencies, and ensured a safe transition from hospital to community,” said Brenda Worth, PCH director of Nursing. Also sponsored by Kathy Jones, Health PEI’s di‐rector of Public Health Pro‐grams, this was one of the latest in a series of process improvements to use the prin‐ciples of Lean Six Sigma.

Project results included: A 67.9 per cent decrease in the amount of missing data;

An 89 per cent improve‐ment in the time to com‐plete information for transfer; and

An 82.7 per cent decrease, from August to November 2012, in the number of

mothers not seen by a Public Health Nurse in hos‐pital.

Team members presented their results to the Maternal Newborn Quality Team in De‐cember and discussed provin‐cial standardization of the new approaches.

For moms and babies, an easier transition home

Awards recognize quality and safety excellence

The Provincial Diabetes Team, group award winners: (front row, from left) Libby Logan, Viola Evans‐Murley, Tanya Murphy, Michelle Hogan,

Ashley Martin, Jana Corish; (back row, from left) Dr. Lenley Adams (medical director), Carmel Donaldson, Joanne Sullivan, Martha St. Pierre, Kyla O'Keefe. Current team members not pictured are Mark Spidel (program manager), Linda Howell‐Coughlin, and Mary Laura

Coady.

Atlantic Learning Exchange returns to Moncton May 14­15