Join small
The Nursing and eHealth Project

Past eHealth Webinars - Presentations to Download

Webinar: Nursing and eHealth Education Program: eHealth Education in 2010'"
Friday August 27th, 2010

RNAO BPGs and Other PDA-Related Resources Thursday, July 29, 2010

eHealth at Your Fingertips: Thursday, May 6, 2010

Nursing's Involvement in eHealth in Ontario: Tuesday, February 23, 2010

Webinar: Putting the E! back in eHealth: Energy, Excitement and Engagement: Thursday, February 18, 2010


Click here to view a video of Dr. Ginette Rodger, discussing the importance of eHealth and Nursing.


RNAO Nursing and eHealth Project Project Update – Summer 2010

Background:

Over the past four years, the Registered Nurses´ Association of Ontario was funded by the Ontario Ministry of Health and Long Term Care (MOHLTC) to implement the Nursing and eHealth Project. The purpose of the initiative is to facilitate the nursing profession’s involvement in the Ontario eHealth agenda and support nurses to take a leadership role in the adoption of communication and information systems in all health-care settings.

Current Activities:

The current focus for 2009-10 includes the following activities:

  • Continue to develop and refine the communication and information tools to increase awareness of the Ontario e-Health Strategy and foster alignment with Nursing and eHealth initiatives;
  • Publish and disseminate the eHealth Toolkit to assist in knowledge building, and sharing of best practices in eHealth innovation and eHealth adoption in keeping with Ontario’s e-Health Strategy focused on chronic disease prevention and management and implement of an Ontario wide electronic health record (EHR).Convert the Toolkit to CD and online format;
  • Enhance and revise the eHealth Education Program;
  • Continue to develop first stage and second stage eHealth Champions who are knowledgeable about Ontario’s e-Health Strategy and direction, eHealth and quality care, and successful eHealth adoption methods;
  • Develop and provide more formal structure to the eHealth Champion role, which will include more links with resources such as the eHealth Toolkit, and specific roles related to the Ontario eHealth Strategy; and
  • Engage with nursing senior administrative and academic leaders to foster appreciation of and involvement in Ontario’s eHealth Strategy and greater understanding of information based clinical practice and nursing education.

Project Status to Date:

Environmental Scan
Phase one of the project, focused on a comprehensive environmental scan. It commenced in October 2005 with a Nursing and eHealth Think Tank, which brought together experts in eHealth and informatics to help shape the project direction. Other activities that were part of Phase one of the project and the environmental scan included the comprehensive literature review, focus group strategy, and establishment of a Nursing and eHealth Advisory Committee.

Nursing and eHealth Advisory Committee
Established in November 2005, the Nursing and eHealth Advisory Committee provides advice to the project. The Advisory Committee includes nurses and other stakeholders with informatics and health system expertise relevant to the project. For a full list of members please click here. The Advisory Committee meets on an ongoing basis and is guided by terms of references.

On Line Survey
The Nursing and eHealth project team developed an on-line survey tool to explore issues related to nurses' views about, and their degree of involvement in eHealth and informatics initiatives in health care. The focus of the survey was on the clinical, administrative, education, research and policy domains of nursing, and it reflected the 4 key themes of: Synergy, Visibility, Accessibility and Knowledge, identified by participants from the October 2005 Nursing and eHealth Think Tank. In addition to the survey link being sent to over 26,000 registered nurses and nursing students in Ontario, the link was posted on the RNAO home page, and the Ontario Nursing Informatics Group (ONIG) website. The survey closed on February 18, 2007 with over 700 participants participating in the survey. To view the survey results click: eHealth Nursing Survey Analysis and Findings

Nursing Leadership in the eHealth Era Think Tank
On January 11th 2007, RNAO hosted a day long "Nursing Leadership in the eHealth Era" Think Tank. The overall purpose of the Nursing Leadership eHealth Think Tank was to bring together senior nurse administrative leaders in all sectors to identify the importance of nursing administration support for and involvement in informatics to enhance patient care and systems outcomes. The day provided a critical opportunity for nursing administrators to learn how they can contribute to the eHealth agenda locally and provincially. The program incorporated presentations from nurse leaders from all sectors who have made eHealth a priority to enhance the work environment and provide quality care. Members of the Nursing eHealth Advisory Committee were involved throughout the day sharing their expertise and involvement in eHealth.

eHealth for Every Nurse Newsletter
eHealth for Every Nurse was established to forward the key messages of the RNAO Nursing and eHealth project through sharing information about nursing and eHealth, featuring eHealth success stories, providing information about key resources in nursing and eHealth, and showcasing new and exciting activities the project team has completed and are planning. eHealth for Every Nurse is published every 6 months and is made available to all members of the nursing community, including those who are actively involved with eHealth and the RNAO Nursing eHealth project, as well as other interested stakeholders. The inaugural issue was published in November 2006 and the latest edition released in February 2010.

If you would like to write an article for eHealth for Every Nurse please contact Tanya Costa, eHealth Project Coordinator, at ehealth@RNAO.org.

Latest Issue

February 2010

Archived Issues

December 2008
May 2008
December 2007
March 2007
November 2006
June 09

The Nursing and eHealth Champion Network
The objective of the network is to promote understanding, acceptance, and adoption of informatics in Point-of-Care activities for nurses and other members of the health team in a variety of healthcare organizations and to develop support strategies for colleagues in the workplace. The Stage 1 eChampions are engaged in awareness-raising, mentoring, and eHealth implementation. Stage 2 eChampions take a lead role in eHealth implementation activities with nurses and other health care professionals. There will be 8 Stage 1 workshops and 4 Stage 2 workshops from February to April 2010.! Course Development
The development of the Nursing and eHealth education program is now complete and available to all nurses in Ontario, free of charge, through the RNAO website. The purpose of this timely education course is to provide nurses with a foundational understanding of the role of eHealth in nursing and health care and its link to quality patient care. The aim is to increase the level of knowledge, understanding and expertise of nurses in all sectors through use of highly accessible technology based and face to face education. Our goal is to reach every nurse and provide a broad, relevant and practical overview of eHealth in a plain language interactive manner, with a particular focus on those nurses at the point of care in clinical, management, and education roles. Two additional modules have been developed to reinforce the linkages between the nursing role, quality client care, and eHealth. These modules are 1. Nurses and nursing students in a digitally connected world and 2. Nursing and electronic health records (EHR). These modules have been added and can be accessed here. For more information about the Nursing and eHealth Education Program contact Tanya Costa, eHealth project coordinator at ehealth@rnao.org.

eHealth Toolkit Development
We are thrilled to announce that in the eHealth Toolkit is now available! The purpose of the Toolkit is to provide a flexible, evidenced-based reference for nurses and other healthcare professionals wishing to integrate eHealth technology into their organizations. The Toolkit will describe a thorough implementation process that has its underpinnings in client care delivery, information sciences, and change management. The users of this Toolkit will include nurses and other healthcare professionals who have a desire to improve client care and health delivery through the use of eHealth. The Toolkit is available for purchase in hard copy for $50 (shipping not included) through the RNAO. For more information about the Nursing and eHealth Toolkit please contact Tanya Costa at ehealth@rnao.org. Please click here for more information.

The Nursing and eHealth Education Program Brochure
An updated version of the Nursing and eHealth Education Program Brochure has been developed to showcase the eHealth education course. If you would like a copy of the eHealth brochure please contact Tanya Costa, eHealth Project Coordinator, ehealth@rnao.org

The Nurse Peer Leader Strategy

The Registered Nurses’ Association of Ontario (RNAO) is taking the lead in an exciting initiative in partnership with the Ontario Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care and Canada Health Infoway called the Nurse Peer Leader Strategy (also called the Nursing Peer-to-Peer (P2P) Strategy). 

The Strategy is part of the Canada Health Infoway Ontario Clinician eHealth Support Network (CeHSN).  Ultimately this network (CeHSN) will provide a basis for interprofessional practice including nurses, physicians and pharmacists and will become a part of the Pan-Canadian Peer Strategy.


The goal of the Nurse Peer Leader Strategy is to create a dynamic group of nurses to assist in the dissemination of updates and information to a wider network to enable the uptake of eHealth for all nurses in
Ontario.  This group will work together with the RNAO eHealth Champion Network, members of Ontario Nursing Informatics Group (ONIG), and nurses who have completed the online RNAO eHealth education course to increase nurses’ awareness and engagement in eHealth. 

Click here for the contact information for the Peer Leader in YOUR LHIN!

For more information about the Nursing and eHealth project please contact:

  • Irmajean Bajnok, Project Director at (416) 599-1925 ext. 234 or by email: ibajnok@rnao.org
  • Tanya Costa, Project Coordinator at (416) 599-1925 ext. 252 or by email: ehealth@rnao.org


 

 




RNAO Discount
Members receive up to 40% off event registration fees!