COVID-19

COVID-19 and Our Kidney COVID Heroes Our COVID Heroes!

As COVID-19 spread and was declared a pandemic in March of 2020, patient partners, clinical teams, leaders and BC Renal staff across our BC Renal network mobilized quickly. They rose to the challenge of dealing with many unprecedented changes to kidney care, services, transportation, communication and more.

Clinical guidelines were developed and various communications with patients and health professionals were implemented to help everyone adjust quickly to the changes. Two web pages were created to provide a central location for COVID-19 resources:

COVID-19 Information for Patients: BCRenal.ca  Health Info  Prevention & Public Health  Novel coronavirus (COVID-19)

COVID-19 Information for Health Professionals: BCRenal.ca  Health Professionals  Clinical Resources  Novel coronavirus (COVID-19)

All the hard work did not go unnoticed.

To provide recognition of these efforts, BC Renal put out a call for nominations of “COVID Heroes.” More than 15 individuals and teams were nominated for their exceptional response to the pandemic, showing leadership and courage during a time filled with uncertainty.

An inspiring and moving video of excerpts from their nominations was produced and can be viewed on our YouTube channel here: https://youtu.be/beHGqGHHAJI

PROMIS Team Adapts to COVID Needs, Continues Work on New and Improved Version of Information System

PROMIS – the Patient Records and Outcome Management Information System – is the only province-wide integrated registry and clinical information system for kidney disease and transplant patients.

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Top 3 Accomplishments:

New Functionality Added for COVID Response: Several priority updates were implemented to support the clinical response to COVID-19. In spring 2020, four updates added functionality to support data collection and reporting associated with COVID, and in the fall, additional features were added to facilitate the scheduling and tracking of virtual visits. System Updates Continue: Efforts to transition PROMIS from its classic version to its new and improved version, PROMIS 4, continued in 2020, and into 2021. This includes upgrades to methods for reporting tuberculosis services, physical exams, complications, glomerulonephritis drug applications, patient infectious status and immunizations, immunology results, human leukocyte antigen lab requisitions, biopsy results, and several other key indicators. These updates ensure the ongoing availability and sustainability of PROMIS. New Post-COVID Provincial Program Implemented through PROMIS: The Post-COVID Recovery program builds on PROMIS’ strengths by delivering a longitudinal patient record for those who have tested positive for COVID-19 and have been referred to a Post-COVID Recovery Clinic. In particular, it captures patients in ambulatory settings, supporting clinical care and outcomes reporting.

PROMIS

It’s been really rewarding to see the team pivot to quickly deliver solutions to the emerging needs this past year – whether it was about COVIDrelated data capture and reporting, or building in support for the shift to virtual visits – all while managing an overnight transition to remote work. They showed resilience and a commitment to their work and one another, as well as the patients and providers supported by PROMIS, in these unprecedented times.

– Karin Jackson , Director of Operations, PROMIS

Web info & resources: BCRenal.ca ⊲ Health Professionals ⊲ Professional Resources ⊲ PROMIS