Connect Care Wave 2 launches in just a few days. Site physicians new to Connect Care, as well as those shouldering re-directed work, may question the wisdom of adding informational stress to pandemic pressure. These concerns are taken seriously. The risks and benefits of clinical information system (CIS) launch are weighed, and re-weighed.
COVID Pressures
Unfortunately, pandemic pressures are unlikely to change anytime soon. Indeed, we will continue to adapt for years to come.
One of our most effective adaptations is Connect Care. The CIS, where implemented, has enabled more flexible practice, safer workflows, better integration with laboratory and virtual health services, and rapid deployment of new guidelines and decision supports. The more sites we have on Connect Care, the smoother we transition COVID patients to the level and location of care they need.
On balance, pandemic pressures are easier to manage on Connect Care than off (also a factor in launch decisions by other large sites).
No Good Time
The lead up to a launch date is complex and effortful. Training, technology, people and processes are all readied and aligned. There are so many interdependencies that any launch deferral would be to a much later date, with no assurance that conditions would have improved by then. We are in a strong position now, with excellent Super User, leader, drop-in and other supports already in play.
Site Success Is a Zone Accountability
Wave 2 sites do not work alone. They are surrounded by groups already using a stable and strong Connect Care CIS, sites that help shoulder launch burdens. Readiness includes zonal redirection and other supports integrated with pandemic emergency response planning. The time is right.
Weekend Launch
A weekend launch date is best because there are minimal ambulatory appointments or elective surgeries, and the inpatient census is easier to contain. Furthermore, fewer diagnostic tests are scheduled and inter-facility transfers for procedures are limited.Connect Care has proven its value at our Wave 1 sites over the last year, where it has stabilized and continually improved. Wave 2 sites will benefit from greater system maturity, and they will benefit even more from the accumulated experience of a large population of proficient users.
We have great confidence in the leadership, staff and clinicians at all sites that will be implementing Connect Care, and expect that these will return to near-normal throughput sooner than imagined.
That said, go-no-go decisions are revisited frequently... right up to the final launch hour. Wave 2 clinicians can trust that their CIS benefit/risk balance is a matter of constant, vigilant attention. Be sure to keep your leaders updated with any new developments or concerns.