In February 2013, it was five years since the first BC PSLS Go Live!
Implementing the system across the province has been a huge accomplishment in itself but, in some sense, the real work is just beginning. As we look back to where we’ve come from and plan where we’d like to go with BC PSLS, we are shifting our focus to developing better tools that will support learning and improvement in healthcare facilities across the province.
“We can now record and collect patient safety event data and now we have much to learn from this data so our patients are safer. We must make patient safety solutions available to our colleagues who face similar issues and we need to celebrate our success with colleagues, patients, families, and the public.”
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Dr. D. Douglas Cochrane, Patient Safety & Quality Officer and Chair of the BC PSLS Steering Committee
From Reporting to Learning!
Our vision – to make healthcare safer for all British Columbians by fostering a culture of safety, shared learning and continuous system improvement – can only be achieved if the work we do at Central Office supports BC PSLS users across the province.
To help us learn how to improve BC PSLS and set the stage for future directions for event reporting in BC, we recently hosted a strategic planning workshop with our stakeholders and asked them for their ideas.
Thanks to the valuable feedback we received from our colleagues, several key initiatives for 2013 (and beyond!) are underway.
(Photo shows participants at the From Reporting to Learning BC PSLS workshop held in November 2012)
EDUCATION & TRAINING TOOLS
BC PSLS users tell us they need more education and training tools and we are keen to move forward with this important work at Central Office.
Recognizing individual learning styles and the time pressures healthcare staff often experience, our new educational resources will be offered in various formats, which may include a combination of:
- short video clips similar to Youtube (see ‘Tips & Troubleshooting’ for example)
- quick reference guides
- e-learning
- user manuals
Down the road we also plan to offer online training classes so users can participate ‘live’ from anywhere in the province under the guidance of a BC PSLS educator and without having to leave their current location.
BC PSLS Recommendations module is up first! Recommendations is one module available in the BC PSLS toolbox which helps to guide, standardize and support best practices in the development, implementation and evaluation of recommendations arising from patient safety, critical event, coroners’ and other quality and safety review reports. This module will be the first to offer a variety of educational tools available through our BC PSLS website, giving access to BC PSLS users when and where it’s most convenient for them.
“It is exciting to see education offered in so many different formats. Users will now have a choice on how they feel they can best learn about BC PSLS.”
- Irene Matsui, Quality Leader, Education & Change Management, BC PSLS
SPECIALIZED REPORTER FORMS
Another key priority is to develop category-specific reporter forms for events from areas with specialized services or with a particularly high reporting volume. Falls, for example, generate the highest volume of events in BC PSLS, demonstrating the potential learning opportunities of a specialized form to capture this category of patient safety events. Other suggestions include forms for medication, mental health, emergency and pressure ulcers.
New forms will align with the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) Common Formats, which fits nicely with efforts made by groups in BC, such as the provincial Falls Working Group.
Look for the new specialized forms, along with a new “shortened” reporter form, later this year.
SO…WHAT DO YOU THINK?
We are very interested in hearing your feedback! As users of BC PSLS, you are our best source for knowing if our tools are meeting your needs and how they could be improved.
Post a comment here or email your comments and ideas to bcpslscentral@phsa.ca. Thank you!
Michelle