Communities of Practice

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A Community of Practice (COP) is a group of practices (or service area) that collaborates to improve services to a shared patient population using a common Electronic Medical Record (EMR). This group or service area may share a physical building or be located across a community.

PITO has set aside significant funding for the Communities of Practice Program. The goals of the program are:

Support for clinical initiatives such as local health networks that require greater ability to exchange patient information
Easier movement for locums and out-of-hours coverage
Increased physician collaboration and peer support
Coordinated and collaborative implementations
Encourage and empower physician leadership groups

A Community of Practice will have:

A set of common clinical goals
Identified a lead and Core Team who will represent the community
A defined membership who are interested in adopting/optimizing a common EMR

Forming and Maintaining a Community of Practice

PITO relationship managers work with physicians across the province to form COPs and to empower COPs to reach their goals.

The following diagram shows the typical sequence of events during and after the establishment of a COP:

Define membership – clinics and physicians that will form a COP

Vision and goals – what you want to achieve through the COP
Core Team – identify the lead and the members of the team who will represent the community

PITO Tools and Support

Application form
Assign primary PITO resource
Facilitation and guidance on appropriate goals within the COP Program mandate

Core Team’s mandate, meeting schedules, Core Team roles, decision making process
Confirm commitment from partners – vendors, region, etc.
Confirm financial support and terms
Communication methods and administrative support
Identify additional PITO resource needs

PITO Tools and Support

Facilitation of meetings
Terms of Reference
Letter of Understanding - to confirm funding and expectations/roles between the COP and PITO
COP Budget Summary
Memorandum of Understanding - to confirm expectations between the COP and the vendor

Prioritize initiatives and develop a plan
Validate the plan with the community

PITO Tools and Support

Approve plan and assign resources
Project Proposal template
Communication templates/best practices – support for community kick-off

Designate ownership of projects
Set up User Groups
Establish Peer Support model

PITO Tools and Support

Facilitate meetings
Guidance on best practices
Documentation