Implementing EDIS Tracking and Triage Documentation - Exploring the Potentials
by Rebecca B. Espedido, RN, MA, CCRN & Julie Pike, RN, BScANT
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ABSTRACT
At a large community hospital, the Emergency Department seized an opportunity provided by the generous gift of a former ER physician to implement an electronic tracking system and triage documentation. The implementation of this system was in line with the organization’s strategic plan and provided another building block in the realization of the Electronic Patient Record. The goals of the project were to improve patient flow by providing timely access to patient information, reduce wait times for patients and ambulance offload; and to provide information to identify trends and explore quality issues. The journey of a centralized design and build team to plan and implement a departmental system in a busy, overcrowded urban emergency department will be explored.
A systems implementation cycle was utilized to implement EDIS with a strong emphasis on process improvement in the areas of patient flow as well as registration and documentation practices. This presentation will highlight the collaboration of Information Technology Services with clinicians to maximize system potentials to streamline patient care delivery and the effect of user engagement on outcomes. Finally, the authors will report on the progress at meeting the goals of the project and the outcomes that have been realized thus far. The challenges of balancing the needs of the clinicians within the restrictions of the functional capabilities, managing the processes and engaging the end user continue to be the most fascinating challenges of influencing practice changes through technology.
ABOUT THE AUTHORS
Rebecca B. Espedido, RN, MA, CCRN
The presenter completed her M.A. in Nursing Informatics from New York University. She is presently employed as a Clinical Informatics Specialist – Clinical Documentation, Gateway Project for Toronto East General Hospital. She is involved in the design, development, implementation, support of clinical documentation applications and the wireless project. She has extensive years of nursing experience in pediatrics/neonatal critical care and has worked as a MIS trainer and a Nurse Coordinator/IT Liaison Officer in New York for 2 years. The presenter had previously participated as a speaker and displayed poster presentations for Coach, CQI Network and Canadian Cerner Regional User Group.
Julie Pike, RN, BScANT
The co-presenter is the Director of Emergency Services at Toronto East General Hospital. She has been at the Toronto East for 18 years and has occupied the previous positions of Clinical Facilitator Emergency and the Patient Representative for the Hospital. Her current position as Director has been held for the past 3 years. The Emergency Department embarked on the process of obtaining an Emergency Department Information System 4 years ago and she worked closely with the Hospital's Informatics team to see the implementation to fruition.
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