South Okanagan General Hospital Wins Organizational Transformation Health Award
(11/02/2006)

South Okanagan General Hospital (Oliver, BC), part of the large health care organization Interior Health Authority, won the prestigious Organizational Transformation Health Award for successfully implementing an Advanced Clinical System that supports both quality and patient safety. The Government award recognizes leadership, innovations, and excellence in the management and use of information technologies within the public service of British Columbia. South Okanagan General Hospital (SOGH), devised a Quality Patient Safety (QPS) project where information technology from MEDITECH played a key role in making it possible for an organizational transformation to occur.

South Okanagan General Hospital was the winner amongst 55 nominees including organizations from public education, municipalities, and health care facilities. The organization was also the runner-up in the category of Business Value and Results through Technology.

"We started with an initiative that incorporated six integrated phases," states Maureen Detwiller, Director of Clinical Systems Quality and Safety, at South Okanagan General Hospital. "Our main objective was to improve the systems of delivering care at SOGH through software, technology, policies, and processes."

The six Quality Patient Safety phases included: positive patient identification, lab specimen collection, electronic nursing documentation, Bedside Medication Verification, Computerized Physician Order Entry (CPOE), and physician Electronic Medical Record (EMR) systems, all of which encompass the MEDITECH software. "Changes were non-stop throughout this initiative, and there were specific challenges such as providing education and support; effectively communicating throughout the project; and being open to making the necessary process changes and system improvements," says Detwiller. "However, the team and the SOGH staff and physicians are to be commended for their significant efforts in this initiative. Their dedication and hard work to implement new processes and new technology to increase the safety and quality of care for patients is very deserving of the recognition this award brings."

The South Okanagan General Hospital staff worked diligently on the six phases during an aggressive 18-month time frame. Prior to the project, patient notes were hand-written onto the chart, paper charts existed rather than electronic records, and some technologies such as mobile wireless devices were never seen or used before. Now, since the implementation transformation, technologies such as handhelds and barcoding have been adopted and are being utilized daily. Automatic alerts ensure confirmation of the correct patient, medication, dose, route, and time. While it took time to train nurses, physicians, and other end users on the new ways of documenting patient care through different types of technology, SOGH has successfully transformed its health care facility and implemented an information system that will provide continual quality care to patients.

"The biggest benefit is that the Quality Patient Safety pilot project at South Okanagan General Hospital has allowed us to implement a variety of technologies and advanced clinical information systems to enhance clinical decision making and quality of care. This sets a foundation that we can build on as we look to how technology can help us to improve the quality and safety of the health care we deliver within Interior Health," states Detwiller.

 

About Interior Health Authority
As one of six health authorities in British Columbia, Interior Health encompasses four Health Service Areas: Thompson Cariboo Shuswap, Okanagan (Oliver), East Kootenay, and Kootenay Boundary. The Interior Health Authority has over 1,200 physicians and 17,000 employees that provide services ranging from acute care, long-term care, residential care, home care, and public health to approximately 690,000 people. South Okanagan General Hospital (Oliver, BC), a 24-bed acute care hospital, is part of the Interior Health Authority.

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