The VA Provider Digital Health (DHC) Committee meets regularly; members work to identify Cerner changes that would be most helpful to providers. VPSA provides sessional funding to the nine physician representatives on the committee for time spent in meetings and doing other committee work.
The following is a summary of the committee’s February 11th meeting.
Team Communications update
The Team Communication Tool in Cerner is a PowerChart mPage component designed for non-urgent, asynchronous communication between interdisciplinary care teams. It is intended to support—not replace—real-time communication methods. Socialization and standards for use of this tool are ongoing at VGH and UBCH inpatient units as of February 17th. (The tool went live at VGH and UBCH inpatient units on February 17th.)
Use of the Team Communication tool is a shared responsibility amongst members of the care team, and all members are asked to ensure information contained in the tool is current. The tool is reviewed a minimum of once per shift, and outdated items removed. Orders should continue to be entered into the Orders profile and consult recommendations should be contained within the appropriate consult note documentation.
Provider educators were on site during the week of the tool’s go-live date.
Project selection
Major themes for potential projects have emerged from sustainment requests, provider feedback, and clinical informatics input. Those themes are:
- Communication
- Documentation
- Data visibility
- Alerts
There have been recurring issues with documentation standards. Members voiced that notes are often too long and current data tokens too verbose.
The committee will be exploring standardization of note template structure with consult notes identified as a logical first step. Elements of effective consult notes will be determined with the end goal being to create a modular, cross-specialty note template.
Next Meeting
The committee meets again on March 11th. If you have an item you wish to be brought forward at one of these meetings, please contact Laura Mc Evoy, Manager, Provider Strategic Initiatives & Engagement at VCH.