Bayshore's Chief Nursing & Clinical Officer Co-Chairs New Digital Health Best Practice Guideline Expert Panel with RNAO

TORONTO, May 7, 2024 /CNW/ - Bayshore ? a top Best Practice Spotlight Organization^® (BPSO^®) ? is proud to announce that its Chief Nursing & Clinical Officer, Maureen Charlebois, has co-chaired an expert panel for the new Best Practice Guideline (BPG) by the Registered Nurses' Association of Ontario (RNAO).

The new BPG, titled Clinical Practice in a Digital Health Environment, aims to advance, and strengthen professional practice in the context of a digital health setting. It is designed for all nurses and members of the interprofessional health team, not only in Ontario, Canada, but also globally.

"Co-chairing this BPG alongside Dr. Vanessa Burkoski was an immensely rewarding experience. I was honoured to co-chair this exceptional expert panel," says Charlebois. "The nursing profession has provided tremendous leadership in advancing digital health since the first Adopting eHealth Solutions: Implementation Strategies BPG in 2017, which I had the privilege to initiate and co-chair. Our goal is to enhance health-care delivery through effective use of digital health technologies. This guideline represents our joint efforts to ensure technology is effectively used and integrated into clinical practice for improved provider experience and patient outcomes."

This BPG provides evidence-based recommendations for nurses, interprofessional teams, organizations, and health systems. It was created through a broad collaboration with an expert panel that included individuals with first-hand experience. This BPG covers:

• the skills and competencies needed by clinical nurses to ensure safe, quality, and person-centred clinical care through therapeutic relationships in a digital health environment.
• nurses' involvement in the design, implementation, and evaluation of digital health environments.
• the competencies required by nurse leaders in all domains of clinical care, administration, education, research, and policy to support the intersection between clinical practice and technology.
• enabling policies and procedures to support nurses and members of the interprofessional team to effectively use digital health technologies.

This BPG is dedicated to the memory of Dr. Vanessa Burkoski, who initiated and co-chaired the panel with Charlebois. Dr. Burkoski, former Chief Nursing Executive and Chief of People Strategy at Humber River Health, passed away in August 2023.

"We were honoured to have Dr. Vanessa Burkoski and Maureen Charlebois driving this innovative guideline to offer their insights and expertise on a topic that is changing care delivery," says RNAO CEO Dr. Doris Grinspun, the founder of RNAO's BPG and BPSO programs. "As technology advances, nurses and other health professionals must leverage these new tools ? such as predictive analytics powered by artificial intelligence ? to advance access, quality of care and equity. This BPG serves as a reference for health professionals, including nurses, to confidently ensure person-centred, evidence-based safe and quality care," adds Grinspun.

RNAO has developed more than 50 BPGs, significantly contributing to excellence in Ontario. These guidelines are regularly updated to keep pace with scientific advancements.

Bayshore HealthCare is a Canadian-owned company and is one of the country's leading home and community healthcare service providers. The company aims to enhance the quality of life, well-being, dignity, and independence of Canadians of all ages. With locations across the country, including 80+ home care offices, 11 pharmacies and 100+ community care clinics, Bayshore has more than 18,000 staff members and provides care to over 350,000 clients annually. Bayshore has been a recipient of Canada's Best Managed Companies award since 2006 and is designated as a Best Practice Spotlight Organization by the Registered Nursing Association of Ontario. https://www.bayshore.ca/

RNAO's Best Practice Guideline (BPG) Program is funded by Ontario's Ministry of Health. It was envisioned by CEO Dr. Doris Grinspun in 1998 and launched in 1999 to provide the best available evidence for patient care across all health sectors and settings, with more than 50 guidelines developed to date. The Best Practice Spotlight Organization (BPSO) program supports health service and academic institutions that have formally agreed to implement multiple RNAO BPGs over a three-year period, and evaluate their impact on patients, organizations and health system outcomes. Launched in 2003, the BPSO program now has more than 1,500 BPSOs in Ontario, Canada and internationally.

The Registered Nurses' Association of Ontario (RNAO) is the professional association representing registered nurses, nurse practitioners and nursing students in Ontario. Since 1925, RNAO has advocated for healthy public policy, promoted excellence in nursing practice, increased nurses' contribution to shaping the health system, and influenced decisions that affect nurses and the public we serve. For more information about RNAO, visit RNAO.ca or follow us on X (formerly Twitter), Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn.

SOURCE Bayshore HealthCare