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Physician Newsletter -Aug 22, 2024

Improving eReferrals for Users

Electronic referrals (eReferrals) offer many benefits for patients, providers, and the health system. To realize these benefits, we must continue to support users to make the most of this tool.

We will keep listening to and learning from providers to understand how we can improve eReferrals, their integration with electronic medical record systems (EMRs), and the electronic referral forms used in the tool.

A team involving Nova Scotia Health (NSH) and IWK Health (IWK) representatives regularly meets with our eReferrals vendor, OceanMD, to review and prioritize enhancement requests. So far, dozens of enhancements have been made based on feedback from Nova Scotia users. 

An overview of key eReferrals made since April can be found here.

Our joint eForm review committee also reviews user feedback and we are pleased to highlight below some important eForm changes below.

Thank you to the members of our primary care and surgeon advisory groups and other users and teams who have shared your suggestions and helped us make important changes for users.

Please keep sharing your feedback, support requests and eForm changes with us at: www.referralsns.ca/contact-us.

Recent eForm improvements!

eForm

Initial eForm

Update

General Surgery

If the Primary Reason for Referral is cancer (suspected or confirmed), there is no option to select the appendix from the specify list.

Appendix will be offered in the specify section for General Surgery forms when the primary reason for referral is cancer.

All Surgical Review Notes

In the Review Note for Surgical Referrals, the outcome contains: Surgery, Non-surgery and Continue to follow.

In the review note for Surgical Referrals, the Outcome contains: Surgery, Non-surgery, Continue to follow, Minor Procedure and Scope.

All Pediatric Surgical Forms

In many cases, the Pediatric Patient Information such as phone number and email belong to their parent / caregiver. Physicians are having to copy that information into the Parent / Caregiver Information section as it does not auto populate and is mandatory.

Checkboxes have been added for the Parent / Caregiver contact phone # and Parent / Caregiver contact email to make it the same as the above Patient Information section.

 

This section no longer has mandatory fields.

 

MRI Form

Referrers don’t always have access to exact patient weight when they complete the MRI form and have requested a way to more easily indicate if the patient may exceed the maximum table capacity.

To address this, a trial change to the MRI referral form was rolled out this month. Referrers can still enter a weight, or click one of the new buttons to indicate if the patient is Over 350lbs/160kg orUnder 350lbs/160kg.

 

 New ALC Tableau Dashboard Launched

The Integrated Access and Flow Network is pleased to share a significant milestone in the Nova Scotia Health provincial Alternate Level of Care (ALC) project. The new ALC Tableau Dashboard, which pulls real-time data from Meditech and STAR, is now available. This dashboard provides better data and timely information, allowing frontline staff to visualize their clinical contributions, and for management to have visibility to make informed decisions specific to discharge resource allocation.

From what we know, this has been a 14-year journey. This is also the first time in Nova Scotia Health history, that all three key components – Nova Scotia Health ALC definition, standardized designation, and data capturing – are working in concert, enabling data retrieval through the dashboard.

Data Note: Patients who were designated as ALC before April 30, 2024, still contribute to the dashboard. However, due to prior inconsistencies in the ALC designation/documentation process, not all their ALC days will be properly flagged and accounted for. Until all these patients have been discharged and the new/consistent process is followed across Nova Scotia Health, the total ALC length of stay indicator may not be entirely accurate.

Feel free to reach out if you have any questions. If you cannot access the dashboard, please let us know via the accessandflownetwork@nshealth.ca and we will work with the Tableau team for a solution.

Join the Nova Scotia Health Provincial Home First Working Group

 

Nova Scotia Health is calling on healthcare providers, physicians, managers, and team leads with experience in patient discharge or a strong grasp of the Home First philosophy to join the Provincial Home First Working Group. This initiative aims to enhance patient care and streamline discharge processes.

Background

The Home First journey began with a survey in the summer of 2023, where 144 participants from various zones shared their insights on their Home First understanding and experience. Key findings include:

  • 65% see Home First as a supportive philosophy with dedicated resources and policies.
  • A broad understanding emphasizes returning patients home with necessary supports and respecting their choices.
  • 64% have already implemented elements of Home First, but there is a strong call for more education, support, and resources.

Objectives of the Working Group

  • Develop a Home First Framework leveraging the National Health Services (England) Home First Practical Guide and Dignity of Risk.
  • Create Home First Guidelines linked to Overstay Policy and Alternate Level of Care.
  • Develop educational training tools and resources for frontline staff.

Who Should Apply

The Provincial Home First Working Group is looking for individuals who:

  • Have experience with patient discharge
  •  Understand and advocate for the Home First philosophy.
  • Are committed to improving patient care and discharge processes.

How to Apply

Submit your expression of interest no later than September 22, 2024. Include your name, role, and a brief description of your experience with Home First services or programs.

For more information or to submit your expression of interest, please contact phuong.nguyen@nshealth.ca.

OPOR Program Team Update: Welcoming Dr. Julie Maranda

 

The One Person One Record (OPOR) Program is pleased to welcome Dr. Julie Maranda as interim program Chief Medical Information Officer (CMIO) for OPOR. Dr. Maranda will be covering all OPOR-related CMIO duties while Dr. Ashley Miller is on maternity leave. Dr. Matthew Clarke will continue as Associate CMIO for IWK Health and Nova Scotia Health.

Dr. Maranda is a family physician and hospitalist and has provided obstetrics care for most of her career. “I have loved having the privilege to take care of patients from birth to death, and really appreciate the variety that I’ve been able to experience,” says Dr. Maranda. Throughout her career, she has taken on leadership roles and completed an MBA in Digital Transformation. “I felt this was important to equip me for the transformation that healthcare needs to embark upon. With the COVID-19 pandemic and increasing medical leadership needs in our healthcare system, I significantly reduced my clinical work to focus more on systemic change.”

That focus on systemic change has brought her to Nova Scotia and the OPOR Program. “I was drawn to the scope of this project as I believe in the province-wide approach for a clinical information system (CIS) implementation,” she says. “I also feel very strongly about patient-centered design that the One Person One Record vision statement prioritizes.” Dr. Maranda has experience with multiple electronic medical record systems and believes Nova Scotians will be well served by the future OPOR-CIS. Learn more about Dr. Maranda here.

Leading the Way: Episode 62 - Interview with Dr. William Silverstein

 

Dr. William (Billy) Silverstein, recipient of the Future Leader in Choosing Wisely Award and Associate Editor for JAMA Internal Medicine: Teachable Moments, shares insights into his leadership journey and his efforts to promote resource stewardship in medicine. LISTEN

CSPL podcasts are now available on Apple podcasts.

Read the full newsletter here. 

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