Answers to questions related to computers, technical devices, software or systems.
Computers and equipment
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Will health professionals have the right devices in place to support their work?
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A Clinical Device Task Force, made up of multi-disciplinary professionals from across VCH, PHSA and PHC was established to determine and evaluate the devices needed to support clinical practices. Before each site goes live with CST, the Device team will work with site coordinators to determine what shortlisted devices would work best for them, how many and where they need them. They will also work with sites to assess power availability and network connectivity.
Software and systems
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What will happen if/when the system goes down?
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There will be a comprehensive downtime plan. The plan will include a downtime preparedness checklist and the step-by-step processes to follow during both planned downtime (required for system upgrades) and unplanned downtimes (for unlikely emergencies such as a system wide failure).
To ensure continuity of care during downtime, clinicians and staff will have access to a view-only copy of the electronic patient record within a special downtime viewer. These records will be available to view and print from computers on the unit and other locations.
Technical downtime plans are combined with business continuity plans to determine clinical workflow during a system outage.
- How will CST work with technological (device and system) updates?
- Going live with CST and the new system will be the beginning of the journey, not the end. The current version of the system has laid the foundation for the incremental additions in functionality that will happen before Vancouver's go-live and ongoing improvements that will continue after our go-live.
As new system functionality, software updates, devices and clinical technologies are released they will be assessed against the needs of VCH, PHSA and PHC and made available as appropriate, beginning with the first CST Cerner software upgrade that was rolled out in June 2019. The upgrade, among other benefits, provided additional functionality and important performance improvements, including speed and responsiveness.
- How did the June 2019 CST Cerner update benefit users?
- The first CST Cerner software upgrade was rolled out on June 22, 2019. Benefits of this upgrade included: additional functionality, such as enhanced fetal monitoring; an updated, friendlier user interface that addresses usability issues; and performance improvements including improved speed and responsiveness.
- What is Front-end Speech Recognition (FESR)?
- Providers can eliminate or reduce typing into the clinical information system by using front-end speech recognition (FESR). FESR will help make documenting in the new clinical information system easier by allowing providers to translate speech into text in real time. Providers' reports are edited and signed by them, in real time, and instantly available in the patient's electronic record within minutes. Templates, voice commands and other efficiency aspects can be used to speed up the dictation process. Providers can sign up for one-on-one FESR training to gain experience using M*Modal Fluency Flex in advance of the CST Cerner activation and reduce the learning curve prior to using CST Cerner.
