What Happened: Bringing Flexibility and Focus to Peer Review

When North Shore Medical Center first adopted RL6:PeerReview to support their peer review process, its team was no stranger to incorporating technology in their peer review process.

North Shore Medical Center (NSMC) is in Salem, Massachusetts, with a second campus in Lynn, MA. The center is one of the largest healthcare providers north of Boston, with 372 beds and over 90,000 visits to its three emergency departments each year.  

Prior to RLDatix, they were using a homegrown database but, according to Nancy Kerins, Quality Data Analyst, the technology was reaching its limits. As users of RL6:Risk and RL6:Feedback, selecting RLDatix for peer review in 2015 was a natural choice. “We liked the idea of having it all on the same system and being able to push things from one module to the other and linking it,” says Nancy.

Recently, NSMC updated to 6.7.1, the latest version of RL6:PeerReview. With this latest upgrade, NSMC is leveraging the improved flexibility of the software to better suit NSMC’s rather unique peer review process.  

“Our peer review is less of a focused practitioner peer review and more of an event review,” says Nancy, “We really focus on the what happened not who did it in our peer review.”

This approach embodies a focus on learning and improvements and making the process the least punitive it can be. In 2017, NSMC had 374 peer review files, each linked to one or multiple peer review meetings.

“To get the providers to buy-in to the process you have to show them that this is not about them personally,” says Melissa Freeman, Patient Safety Manager “It’s about the system, how we can support them and how we can all learn from a peer review case.”

RL6:PeerReview is involved from the beginning of the peer review process. Before opening a peer review, Quality Specialists at NSMC will evaluate the case and evaluate whether it warrants further exploration. If it does, it will be entered into RL6:PeerReview. Once the data is entered, a report is pulled that summarizes the cases that will be reviewed by the committee – it includes the timeline, base details and contributing factors.

Though NSMC’s very specific workflow means that the software isn’t always a perfect fit, the added flexibility with the 6.7.1 release has made integration with their process much more seamless. Alongside the flexibility, some of NSMC’s favorite RL6:PeerReview features include setting up alerts, auto reports and linking between safety events in RL6:Risk and peer reviews.

“One of the most exciting new features for us was being able to re-order fields and set fields as required for submission and closure,” says Nancy, this feature has helped cut back administrative workloads and makes submission easier.

Thinking of an upgrade? Tips from NSMC:

“I would recommend robust testing for anyone making an upgrade – and look at your organization’s workflow and make sure that it’s reflected in our test plan.” – Nancy Kerins

“Leave enough time for testing because there’s often some training you need to do with your end users and you want to leave time for that training.” – Melissa Freeman

What can I expect in the latest RL6:PeerReview?

  • Build your own framework – whether you’re using a standard framework on one that is homegrown, RL6:PeerReview’s increased flexibility allows the software to fir your workflow
  • User-friendly interface: Set varying security levels and easily see what stage of the investigation you’re in and who is involved.
  • Improved Timelines: The improved timeline allows you to link information and materials and monitor progress at-a-glance

To learn more about all of the latest features of RL6:PeerReview, book a demonstration!

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