Over the next few months, in preparation for the implementation of the One Person One Record Clinical Information System (OPOR-CIS), OPOR Program team members and Cyber Security and Digital Solutions (CSDS) staff will be visiting sites included in the first and second Go-Live waves, beginning with IWK Health. These visits will be focused on non-clinical devices and hardware, such as workstations on wheels, barcode scanners, armband printers, desktop computers, and laptops.
The team will update the non-clinical device inventory data that was collected last fall when CSDS visited sites. These visits will allow them to finalize new equipment that will be required, confirm where it will be located, and determine the work that needs to be completed before it can be installed (e.g., new power outlets or data ports).
These activities ensure that no care provider, administrator, or clinician should have to wait to use a computing device to access the OPOR-CIS.
More About Non-Clinical Devices
Earlier this year, we introduced the work that is underway to prepare for the deployment of non-clinical devices (NCD) that will be added to your environment to support the future-state CIS workflows.
Through planning and the above-mentioned validation visits, the NCD project team is focused on preparing workspaces for the shift to online charting and record keeping. Their objective is to have the right devices configured and tested, and in the right places, well before Go-Live.
Examples of standard NCD’s used in clinical settings that you may see incorporated before Go-Live at your site:
- Additional desktops, laptops, medical grade wall-mounted PCs, workstations on wheels (WOWs), and mobile computing devices to allow timely access to patient records and key systems throughout care units, admin areas, and patient rooms.
- More laser, label, and armband printers to support new ways of working, such as closed loop medication administration and specimen collection.
- Document scanners to allow a patient record to be fully digitized and hand-held barcode scanners to allow medications and specimens to be linked to a patient via their armband.
- Dual monitors and large tracking boards to display key records and CIS data for easy access by individuals and teams.
- Peripherals such as dictation microphones and e-signature devices will be more broadly available to support the collection of digital data.
- Downtime systems (PCs and printers) to allow access to patient records if the CIS is unavailable for any reason (e.g., a power or network outage).
The approach used to determine the type and number of non-clinical devices to deploy is aligned with Oracle Health’s best practice and experience delivering similar programs.
It is also informed by discussions with other jurisdictions who are ahead of us in the transformation journey, requirements provided by OPOR teams who are involved in the CIS design, and considerations raised by representatives of clinical, medical, and administrative teams at IWK Health and Nova Scotia Health.
Of course, every facility and space have unique challenges and constraints. An important aspect of deploying these new devices and equipment is working with the teams that use the spaces every day to adjust plans if required. For example, the standard might suggest wall-mounted PCs, but the location might warrant a switch to workstations on wheels (WOWs).
Through each Go-Live, as we learn more about how to best support the new CIS-enabled workflows, there will be an opportunity to adjust the standard for NCDs.
The NCD project team will collaborate with the OPOR clinical solution teams through the duration of the program to understand the experience of CIS users and refine the mix of devices and equipment as required.
This work represents another exciting step toward OPOR becoming a reality, and the implementation of a clinical information system designed by Nova Scotians, for Nova Scotians.
Learn more about the OPOR Program and the OPOR-CIS at opor.nshealth.ca
Ready. Set. Go-Live! Learn more about OPOR Readiness and Knowledge Transfer Activities
As we get closer to the implementation of the new provincial One Person One Record Clinical Information System (OPOR-CIS), the program team is working hard to develop knowledge transfer and clinical readiness plans and activities.
Knowledge transfer is a critical component to readiness, especially in such a significant clinical transformation. Sharing information on how practice will change is an important step in preparing for education and learning, and in readying oneself for the new workflows.
Clinical readiness ensures not only a smoother transition to the new system, but also the delivery of safe and effective patient care. Before learning how to use the CIS, physicians, providers, clinicians, and healthcare workers across the province will become aware of the changes and impacts the system will have on their day-to-day.
Learn more about ongoing OPOR knowledge transfer and clinical readiness plans and activities in this month’s OPOR Monthly Update.
