BC physicians have one of the highest EMR adoption rates in the country. Ninety-four percent (3,542) of full-service family practice GPs are on an EMR and and 100% of those in large clinics (six or more physicians) are now practicing using an EMR in their day-to-day practice.
The aim of the post-implementation support program was to support physicians in optimizing the use of their EMR and in achieving meaningful use (MU) Level 3. Close to 3,000 GPs were engaged in this PSP Technology Group (PSP-TG) program and nearly 2,500 GPs were confirmed to be at MU3 before the end of March 2015.
Physicians’ feedback about the post-implementation support from the Practice Support Program (PSP) Technology Group has been remarkable. Eighty-seven percent of physicians rated their overall experience with post-implementation support as either good or excellent.
Post-implementation support offered more than just financial incentives; it included physician and MOA peer mentorship, Communities of Practice, EMR User Groups, and the PSP-TG staff coaching.
PSP TG ended on March 31, 2015 and a planned integration of field staff into PSP occurred in April 2015.
Now, with substantial achievement of MU3 across the province, many physicians have a solid EMR foundation and are well-positioned to take on quality improvement and more advanced aspects of e-Health such as electronic referrals.
We recognize the ongoing importance of supporting physicians with their EMR optimization. To continue to offer an exceptional level of support to physicians, PSP, through the health authority Regional Support Teams (RSTs), has expanded its network by welcoming 22 new field staff, 15 of which were former PSP-TG staff.
The new team of RSTs has a wide scope of knowledge and skills that will continue to support physicians with their day-to-day quality improvement activities, now, within the context of EMRs. RSTs will help physicians with EMR-enabled support such as:
- supporting physicians to obtain EMR optimization support through a GP peer mentor expert or another suitable resource
- using clinical templates and tools and of registries to better monitor patients within a physician’s panel,
- identifying opportunities to improve office efficiencies, and
- empowering physicians to identify and drive meaningful quality improvement work with increased use of real-time clinical data
RSTs will also collaborate with local divisions to develop work plans for the local delivery of integrated and more flexible practice support services.
With the additional RST members, PSP can now offer more flexible, integrated, and streamlined services to physicians across the province. PSP is currently offering increased training support for RSTs and will look to divisions as key partners for continued learning and program development.
Please contact the Practice Support Program for comments, inquiries or more information.