The Clinical & Systems Transformation (CST) project is designed to improve the safety, quality and consistency of patient care across Vancouver Coastal Health (VCH), Provincial Health Services Authority (PHSA) and Providence Health Care (PHC).

CST will:

  • Provide support to the above health organizations to establish streamlined clinical, research and process standards — including workflows, order sets, clinical guidelines, integrated plans of care and a common electronic health record.
  • Implement a common clinical information system — called CST Cerner — which will replace multiple existing outdated systems. The new system will act as a single electronic record of patient care and will provide significantly more clinical functionality to support clinicians at point of care.  

CST Cerner and Research

Depending on your research role, access to CST Cerner may be required in order to use the PowerChart and PowerTrials applications.

Cerner PowerChart is the primary place to view patient history, documents, lab results and radiology results. Studies that have been reviewed and approved by the research ethics board may require access to information held in PowerChart.

You will need access to PowerChart if you are:

  • Part of a clinical trial team;
  • Conducting observational real-time clinical research; or
  • Requiring data from labs or transcriptions after the date of the CST launch at Vancouver General Hospital (fall 2022).

Cerner PowerTrials is a part of PowerChart that provides functionality for individuals involved in the clinical research process. Learn how to navigate the Cerner PowerTrials in the CST Tips document.

Will this interfere with Clinical Trials Management System (CTMS)?
No. PowerTrials facilitates the connection between clinical care and research within the patient health record. CTMS gives full visibility to a research portfolio with patient tracking, analytics and finance/billing.

Getting Access to CST Cerner (before go-live at VCH)

Prior to requesting access to CST Cerner, a Health Authority (VCH, PHC or PHSA) account is required, and must be sponsored by an existing staff member such as a principal investigator, research manager or patient service manager.

To request a new account, please visit the Health Authority Self Service Portal. 

Once you have your Health Authority account, you can request Cerner access by completing this VCHRI questionnaire:

CST Learning Journey Questionnaire for Research

In the questionnaire, you will indicate what level of CST Cerner access you require. There are five different roles for research staff. Refer to the Research Role Comparison Table to determine your research level.

Cerner Research Level

Research Level 1 (RL1) — For researchers working on retrospective projects, monitors, auditors or inspectors.

Position details:

  • View of PowerChart
  • No view of registration/scheduling
  • No patient search box
  • No “do” functionality (includes no printing capability)
  • The only way to access the chart at R1 is through PowerTrials or a patient list. This can be created by Health Information Management (HIM) for retrospective and chart reviews and by a research nurse or coordinator for monitors, auditors and inspectors.

Research Level 2 (RL2) — For researchers working on a prospective study. To be used by data or research coordinators who are not directly involved in patient care.

Position details:

  • View of PowerChart
  • Includes view of registration/scheduling
  • Search box active
  • Scanning and limited printing functionality
  • Can enroll patients in PowerTrials and place process alerts where required

Research Level 3 (RL3) — For researchers working on a prospective study and coordinators who are involved with direct patient care, including documentation, appointment coordination and assessments.

Position details:

  • Use of message center
  • Scan and print
  • Enroll patients in PowerTrials and place process alerts (where required)
  • Use tracking shell (an electronic list that gives a snapshot of all patient information in a specific department)
  • Limited documentation (document assessments and vitals and in forms)
  • Can activate lab phase in PowerPlans (for researchers trained in phlebotomy, they can activate the labs from which they are collecting)
  • Can place some research orders (e.g., schedule research appointment orders, collect samples for research and unit communication to lab)

Research Level 3+ With Registration/Scheduling (RL3+) — For researchers working on a prospective study and coordinators who are involved with direct patient care, including documentation, appointment coordination and assessments.

Position details:

  • View of PowerChart
  • Registration/scheduling
  • Search box active
  • Use of message center
  • Scan and print
  • Enroll patients in PowerTrials and place process alerts (where required)
  • Use tracking shell (an electronic list that gives a snapshot of all patient information in a specific department)
  • Limited documentation (document assessments and vitals and in forms)
  • Can activate lab phase in PowerPlans (for researchers trained in phlebotomy, they can activate the labs from which they are collecting)
  • Can place some research orders (e.g. schedule research appointment orders, collect samples for research and unit communication to lab)
  • Register and schedule research participants

Research Nurses (RN) 

Position details:

  • Nursing functionality allows all functions shown in RL3 
  • If in need of registration/scheduling, position picker for RL3 with registration/scheduling is required

Contacts