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 physician representatives on the committee for time spent in meetings and doing other committee work. On the agenda for the June meeting: provider handover, tokens work, Teams pilot, and a chance to reflect on the committee’s accomplishments over the past year.

Provider handover

Accreditation site visits in November are driving the need to improve compliance with care transition requirements. A working group has been identified and will work on the initiative. This group will seek feedback from the Digital Health Committee as its work progresses. A tool-agnostic policy has been drafted to outline expectations for handover practice.

Tokens work

Committee members are being asked to evaluate tokens by identifying two things they like and two things they don’t like about a token. Members will then work to identify what makes a “good” token rather than a “bad” one.

All committee members will take part in one-on-one discussions about token usability and design. Medication tokens will be the initial focus for follow-up work to be led by VA ACMIO Dr. Stephen Van Gaal. In-person sessions will be open to feedback on any kind of token. The feedback collected will be compiled into a list of strengths and weaknesses.

Teams pilot

A dial pad has been added and should be active for all team members who requested it. Committee members using this are asked to provide an update for the September meeting.

Retrospective of committee’s work

The group spent the remainder of the meeting reflecting on the past year and how its work has aligned with its stated purpose.

There has been a shift from pure prioritization toward practical, high-impact improvements for physicians.

The Team Communication improvements were the most successful of the committee’s initiatives. These changes delivered clear value to workflow and patient care, and they worked because of their focused scope, consensus, and ability to be implemented.

The core role of the committee was discussed. It is to design and improve tools and workflows for physicians. Its focus is on shared pain points across teams and departments. And it acts as a bridge between clinical practice and technology.

Some key opportunities were identified. These include improving documentation tools (aligned with AI/scribe workflows), providing input into broader organizational initiatives, and strengthening communication back to physician groups.

Next Meeting

The committee meets again on September 9th. 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.