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In a major advancement for patient care in British Columbia, this month BC Cancer – Victoria and the Nanaimo Community Oncology Network successfully went live with the electronic health records system, CST Cerner. This crucial transition represents the fifth system activation at a BC Cancer centre and the third in 2024. At the same time, a further 17 clinics at BC Children's and BC Women’s Hospital + Health Centre also went live on the system.
The moment marks a significant milestone for the Clinical & Systems Transformation (CST) project, as the final activations for the dedicated project team that has led this work for more than ten years.
A transformation of patient care
CST Cerner has transformed patient care across the region. Patients can now expect safer, more consistent care, with teams having real-time access to the information they need from any live location. Access to specialized care at other facilities is more seamless, particularly for patients in rural locations, and electronic medication orders mean pharmacists don’t rely on the legibility of handwriting.
“Because of CST Cerner, patients can feel confident their care team has all the information they need to deliver the best care possible,” said Sally Turner, CST’s Chief Transformation Officer. “They no longer need to remember the details of appointments taken at different facilities or clinics, which really takes the pressure off the patient and their loved ones.”
In addition, CST Cerner supports remote care through electronic referrals to Hospital at Home, an innovative, digitally-enabled program which allows patients at several hospitals in Vancouver to receive hospital-level services in their own home. As the system expands, it will be able to support the implementation of further remote care models.
“I’m so proud of the work that has enabled us to reach this point, and I look forward to the ongoing advancements CST has paved the way for,” says Turner.
A decade-long journey
Initial work on the design and build of CST Cerner began in 2013. In April 2018, Lions Gate Hospital and Squamish General Hospital became the first facilities to join the new system. Today, the system is live at more than 50 facilities and 550 clinics. It is used by over 44,000 staff and providers across Provincial Health Services Authority (PHSA), Vancouver Coastal Health (VCH) and Providence Health Care (PHC), with access to more than 4.7 million patient records. CST has set the bar high for design, build, adoption and rollout of electronic health records and a common clinical information system.
“This project represents one of the greatest transformational changes in the history of health care,” said Dr. Eric Grafstein, CST Chief Medical Information Officer, VCH/PHC. “CST has brought us to ‘the end of the beginning’ of the work needed to deliver exceptional patient care. It has positioned us to take advantage of exciting new opportunities for improved patient care and patient experience.”
“We also now sit on a vast treasure trove of data that we have begun to leverage to measure and improve the quality of care. The collaboration between the various health authorities to create a single instance of an electronic health record has been a remarkable achievement.”
Dr. Patrick O’Connor, CST’s Chief Medical Lead, said, “I have tremendous admiration for the project teams who worked together with clinicians to design and implement a best practice system; for the staff and physicians who worked hard to get through difficult transition periods; and for the Regional Digital Solutions team, who will continue to enhance existing functionality and deliver to new sites.”
“A long journey well worth it, especially for our patients, clients and residents whose information is now readily available to their care teams, regardless of the location.”
You can find out more about the project’s activation timeline and view the full list of live locations.
What’s next for CST?
Although the project is complete, there is more work to be done – this does not mark the end of CST. Work to maintain the system and roll it out to remaining PHSA and VCH facilities and clinics will be led by Regional Digital Solutions, a team within Provincial Digital Health & Information Services, in partnership with the health organizations. Health care teams, their patients and families remain in focus and providers, clinicians and staff who use CST Cerner will continue to receive support through Regional Digital Solutions.
From improved access to health information and greater health equity, to a better clinician experience at the point of care, benefits will continue to be realized through one shared electronic health record system.
