Organizations reap benefits of shared learning
Friday September 28, 2007 -- Jason Thompson
Doris Doidge says because so many mental health centres in Ontario are in the early stages of implementing medication reconciliation, the timing was right to get those involved together for a shared learning workshop.

The director of quality at Whitby Mental Health Centre, Doidge says the workshop was worthwhile for organizations such as hers because the 
discussion centered on mental health.

"By focusing on it from a mental health perspective we were able to say what's working within our environment," she says. "These are some of things we're doing and maybe it'll apply to you as well."

The workshop was held Sept. 14 at Whitby Mental Health Centre, a HIROC subscriber, and was geared towards mental health organizations taking part in Safer Healthcare Now's (SHN) medication reconciliation intervention. One of the key elements in SHN participation is connecting with peers to share and learn from experience.

In order to get the most out of a patient safety campaign such as SHN, Doidge says it's important for organizations to come together to share tools and ideas. This allows organizations to get initiatives up and running much quicker with evidence-based knowledge at their disposal.

The 46 participants, including one all the way from Saskatchewan, seemed to find value in the workshop as Doidge says the feedback was overwhelmingly positive.

Reading from some of the comments submitted on feedback surveys, Doidge says people felt that it was useful in helping them identify steps in moving the medication reconciliation process ahead and 
learning from the experience of other organizations were some of the things they felt were useful.

Another participant said it was extremely helpful having leaders in medication reconciliation provide actual implementation examples along with their struggles and solutions.

"It's about understanding how it applies to your environment and to put the appropriate processes in place to help it meet the needs of your environment and your patient population," Doidge says.

For more information, visit www.qhn.ca or www.saferhealthcarenow.ca.