Resources

Study Planning

Our overall approach is to establish clinician-analyst teams to engage practice communities that are using EMR systems in evaluation activities. To illustrate, a 2-member UVic clinician-analyst team may visit practice sites to: (a) determine the current stage of EMR adoption/use; (b) triage usability/workflow issues; (c) collect baseline PHC indicators through sampling of charts; (d) establish virtual support group for the local champions as part of KT; (e) conduct usability studies on actual/optimal EMR use if feasible; (f) examine work process for actual/optimal workflow patterns; and (g) conduct physician/patient satisfaction surveys for analysis. Many tools would be used and these activities would be staged over several months depending on the local pace of EMR deployment. The evaluation would be repeated for comparison, feedback and improvement. Our approach can be expanded to include multiple clinician-analyst teams each working with a different practice community within a jurisdiction. This can eventually roll out across the country at the pan-Canadian level. See Exhibit 1 for an illustration of clinician-analyst teams working with communities of practice at the jurisdictional and pan-Canadian levels.

Illustration of clinician-analyst teams working with communities of practice