Kitimat surgery is the latest surgical site to go digital

In February 2024, the Kitimat General Hospital and Health Centre became the latest Northern Health surgical site to go live with digital clinical documentation, as part of the SaferCare initiative.

Modernizing surgical practices brings positive changes to Kitimat

Staff working in surgical services in Kitimat now primarily use digital clinical documentation processes when caring for surgical patients. This means:

• The information nursing staff record during pre-surgical assessments flows immediately into Northern Health’s electronic health record (EHR) system, making the information easier to find.
• Patients’ vitals signs and other important information are automatically recorded in the EHR, saving time and making the patient's information more complete.

Digital clinical documentation benefits both staff and patients

Staff working in surgical services in Kitimat are now able to:

• Book both scheduled and urgent cases digitally
• View a daily list of scheduled procedures digitally
• Access and review pertinent patient/surgical information more efficiently

• Provide continuity of care across staffing departments

  

These changes will also help support each patient’s surgical journey. Kitimat surgery patients will now receive improved quality of care when going for surgery by:

• Knowing their surgery team is all on the same page and can access their health information in one place electronically.
• Reducing the number of questions they need to answer, since their health information is more easily accessible in the Northern Health EHR.
• Being able to keep their loved ones informed during their surgery with NH Tracks, Northern Health’s digital surgical tracking tool.

NH Tracks now available in Kitimat

NH Tracks, which is powered by Northern Health’s EHR system, shares updates in real time on where a patient is in their surgical journey. Patients share their patient code with their loved ones, and family members can follow along on the NH Tracks website, reducing hours spent in the waiting room, or waiting and wondering.

Kudos to the Kitimat surgical services team

Change can be challenging, and in a fast-paced health care environment, making changes in practice can be even more challenging. Thank you to the Kitimat surgical services team for making this change and helping Northern Health deliver better and safer health care in the North!