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PHSA’s Burnaby Centre for Mental Health and Addiction has embarked on a transformative change that brings with it tangible benefits for clients, their families, our health professionals, and the health care system overall.
On Sunday, December 8, 2019, the Burnaby Centre went live with the Clinical & Systems Transformation (CST) project. In that moment, PHSA joined their colleagues at Providence Health Care and those serving within VCH’s Coastal Community of Care, in switching from their antiquated systems to CST Cerner, a new, electronic health record that draws us all one step closer to truly integrated care.
Why this change is important
CST is essential and important across all health services and that includes the Burnaby Centre, where diverse care providers come together with a united purpose of supporting some of the most vulnerable people in this province. By introducing CST Cerner along with accompanying practice and process changes, new devices and updated technical infrastructure, the site will be positioned to provide far better care for this population.
With CST, clients will benefit from safer medication management, more consistent care, and less time spent repeating information. For care providers, CST offers real-time access to the client information they need – no more searching for charts, writing orders on paper or deciphering handwriting – giving them more face time with clients. And across the lower mainland, with each subsequent go-live, CST means fewer care silos, more connectivity, and tangible strides towards a real system of care.
CST will also provide Burnaby Centre clinicians – and over time, all those who partner with them – rich information about clients and services through robust new analytics that provide insight into the impact of the care provided.
The Burnaby Centre has set a high bar for other BCMHSUS and PHSA programs and services that will soon experience their own CST roll-outs. This includes Heartwood, Correctional Health Services, Forensic Psychiatric Hospital and the Forensic Regional Clinics, as well as BC Cancer, BC Children’s and BC Women’s Hospitals, and more. These future implementations will benefit from the experience and lessons learned at the Burnaby Centre.
Thank you to all those who have supported in reaching this milestone.
