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