Seamless access to patient information improves patient care
In November 2022, Vancouver General Hospital (VGH) and campus, including the Joseph and Rosalie Segal and Family Health Centre, Willow Pavilion and more than 50 priority clinics transitioned to a new electronic health records system, called CST Cerner.
The Clinical and Systems Transformation (CST) is a multi-year project designed to improve the safety, quality and consistency of patient care across VCH and its partner organizations, Providence Health Care and Provincial Health Services Authority, by transitioning from mostly paper-based records to one electronic health records system. It marked one of the largest health care projects in B.C.’s history and will allow for timely access to electronic patient health records across facilities and organizations, creating more efficient pathways for care.
The training and preparation to transition to CST at VGH required intense preparation and planning.
More than 10,000 staff and medical staff
completed online and in-person training, hundreds of new workstations on wheels and supporting technology devices were rolled-out and thousands of patient charts were transitioned to prepare for the electronic activation.
VGH’s implementation was the largest scope of any CST Cerner activation in B.C. and, in fact, across North America. The benefits for patients include enhanced medication safety, an integrated approach, which facilitates greater consistency of care, faster access to results and medication therapies and less time spent repeating themselves during consultations or undergoing duplicate tests.
VGH joined several VCH sites that have already transitioned to CST Cerner, including Lions Gate Hospital, Squamish General Hospital, Whistler Health Care Centre and Pemberton Health and Sechelt Hospital, Totem Lodge, Shorncliffe Intermediate Care Home and Sumac Place.