The following has been sent on behalf of:

Candice Keddie, Executive Director, Royal Jubilee Hospital

Gillian Kozinka, Executive Director, VGH & Ambulatory Care

Dr Hayley Bos, Medical Director, Victoria General Hospital

Dr Chloe Lemire-Elmore, Medical Director, Victoria General Hospital

Dr Brian Mc Ardle, Medical Director, Royal Jubilee Hospital 

and the IHealth Team.

November 10, 2023

IHealth activation of CPOE at South Island Tertiary sites rescheduled to April-May 2024

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

The February-March 2024 activation of electronic ordering (i.e., Computerized Provider Order Entry, or CPOE) at RJH, VGH, Gorge Road Hospital and South Island Surgical Centre is being re-scheduled to April-May 2024.

We have encountered a technical issue related to the Organization’s move to cloud technology, which came to light in the course of detailed planning work with Oracle Cerner, and has implications both for the South Island Tertiary Go-Live and for the entire electronic health record (EHR) of Island Health.

Essentially, as part of the move to cloud-based servers (what is known in IT terms as “remote hosting option” or RHO), it is necessary for Oracle Cerner to re-build foundational parts of the new Island Health online EHR system so that all components of the system are better and more fully integrated with our existing Island Health systems. This will allow the new Oracle Cerner environment to operate optimally and seamlessly for all users, while fully protecting the privacy and confidentiality of our patients and users.

This re-build must be done precisely to maintain the technological interoperability, security and reliability that are required 24/7, 365 days/year to support staff and deliver patient care and health services in communities across our region.

Following detailed analysis, consideration of options and consultation across clinical, technical, project teams and corporate partners, the decision was made to re-schedule the Tertiary CPOE activation to allow Oracle Cerner time to complete the required re-build. Exact dates will be shared after further joint discussion and planning with site clinical operations and medical staff leadership.

This approach is consistent with industry best practices and reflects our priority commitment to quality, safety and privacy/confidentiality for patients and care providers, as well as optimization of performance and long-term sustainability.

We understand that this re-scheduling has consequences for members of staff and medical staff at all four sites, and colleagues at other sites who made commitments to supporting this activation. For that, we apologize. 

The impact of this re-scheduling for other Island Health sites scheduled to activate advanced EHR tools in 2024 is being assessed. Any timing adjustments will be discussed with the appropriate regional and site leaders in the coming weeks.

The next steps for Tertiary CPOE preparation are as follows:

• Medical staff will be invited to register for online learning and education. 
• Working groups and clinical teams will continue to work through the items identified in Workflow Validation and Order Set Harmonization processes. 
• All Governance and change groups will continue, including Clinical Service Delivery (CSD) Transformation Council meeting weekly and the Medical Staff Champion Council meeting monthly.

WHAT YOU NEED TO DO

MEDICAL STAFF WORKING AT VGH/GRH/SISC AND RJH:

• Look for an email to register for CPOE-related learning and education in the coming weeks.

NURSING, CLINICAL STAFF, NUAs WORKING AT VGH/GRH/SISC AND RJH:

• If you are interested in contributing in the role as part of the Clinical Transformation Team (formerly known as a peer mentors), please speak to your manager and email Michael Pojol (michael.pojol@islandhealth.ca).

MANAGERS AND LEADERS AT VGH/GRH/SISC AND RJH:

• Communicate to teams the re-scheduled Go-Live timing outlined above.
• Continue to attend the CSD Transformation Council meetings for related clinical practice work packages and next steps in clinical readiness. 

THANK YOU FOR YOUR UNDERSTANDING AND PROFESSIONALISM

We gratefully acknowledge the hard work, dedication and professionalism of staff to prepare for this change and put it into practice, towards achieving our quality improvement goals for patient care.