eHealth : Moving Forward and Promoting Teamwork
Sylvia Alloy-Kommusaar. RN, Staff Nurse
Extendicare Van Daele
Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario
eMARS, eTARS, RAI/MDS, CIHI. . . after 24 years of nursing, at first these words looked like another list of approved abbreviations to use with my nursing documentation. In my nursing practice, the introduction and use of electronic technology has changed the way nurses document their care today. Much has changed since I wrote my first nursing care plan as a student in 1982 (which I still have with that old musky smell and yellow colour).
Since 2006, electronic documentation at Extendicare Van Daele has had a big impact on how nurses deliver care, keep current with new standards, facility protocols, meet deadlines and keep within Ministry compliance. One of our goals at the beginning of 2009 was to move forward with using eMARS and eTARS system for our med pass and we will be going live in December 2009. Extendicare Van Daele is the third of several Extendicare homes in Ontario to use this new technology. With any introduction of something new there will be many challenges and learning curves to overcome.
Consultants were hired to come into our facility and provide the training and education for our staff to learn the eMARS and eTARS system. Two full day training sessions were given to full and part- time Registered Staff. For the first two weeks of December, the consultants continued training our Registered Staff on the units with the actual med pass, and one-on-one training to assist staff to input the doctors' orders on Point Click Care, which is the software that Extendicare uses.
In 2006, our home was given funding by the MOHLTC to be the Phase 3 early adopters for the implementation of RAI/MDS (Resident Assessment Instrument/Minimal Data Set 2.0). April 2009 we went live with CIHI and this project has been a huge success. A full-time RAI Coordinator and part-time back up RAI Coordinator continue to work on site to assist staff with any learning needs and implement new standards and guidelines.
What's next before the end of 2009?? Point-of-care tablets! Again, our Registered Staff and Frontline Staff will get the training to document our residents' care electronically, replacing our daily care records. As nurses I believe that we have the critical thinking and clinical skills to move forward with eHealth projects and should be advocates and support for each other at all levels within our facilities.
Sylvia Alloy-Kommusaar is an eChampion at Extendicare Van Daele