I confess to sometimes being drawn down the Reels rabbit-hole of video snippets. The algorithm gives me an odd mix of palliative/end-of-life commentators, the latest political outrages, and brides showing off their dresses in a "First Look" (which was not a thing back in my day). I guess this is an event before the ceremony where the bride and groom get a first look at each other's outfits with (as ChatGPT deadpans) "a photographer present, to capture their private emotional reactions" – which are then immediately posted on every social media channel imaginable. The music swells, and there's sparkling anticipation all around. He sighs, sometimes even tears up. She beams and tries not to crinkle the crinoline. It's very sweet (We made it to this day! How well you clean up!); a little bitter (How much did that dress cost? Oh, the long road of joy and tragedy that lies ahead!); and embarrassingly moving. (Yes, I'm a romantic at heart!). Gotta say, our team felt a little like the groom on seeing the POLST eRegistry interface for the first time! Wow.
It's been a long time coming! As you know, CCCC has been under contract to California’s Emergency Medical Services Authority (EMSA) since 2022 to provide stakeholder management and subject matter expertise to the development and implementation of the POLST eRegistry. The project has been complex, and a lot of it under wraps even from us and the EMSA team with whom we’ve been working most closely. Truth to tell, we haven’t been engaged in the technical side of the work for more than a year, focusing instead on updating educational materials, deploying the POLST Knowledge Survey, and helping EMSA assemble the POLST Technical Advisory Committee (TAC). So when we got our “First Look” at the eRegistry interface, it was pretty thrilling. It’s clean, well designed, and the functionality looks both user-friendly and robust. We were able to head off a few potential flaws in the options (for instance, there shouldn’t be a “Not Applicable” option in Section A), and many aspects are still in progress. In late August, the POLST TAC also previewed the interface, and they had additional questions and suggestions. EMSA also shared a few proposed – not yet finalized – changes to the POLST form that will likely accompany the POLST launch.
If you are attending the Annual Summit in October, you’ll get a “First Look” too – and we encourage you to bring your questions and suggestions. You are the people the eRegistry is designed to serve, so this is your chance to offer vital input!
The TAC members (and we) had a lot of questions about the training and education that will accompany the launch of the eRegistry. EMSA shared that the vendor, ServiceNow, is developing training modules for the technical aspects of the Registry operations, but EMSA has made it clear that they do not intend to do or fund any broader education around the larger POLST process. This month, we’ll be posting a large suite of updated educational documents for download from the caPOLST website, and just after the Annual Summit, the first cohort of POLST Champions will conclude their certificate program with an in-person skills day and an exam. The POLST Champion Certificate program, going forward, will be the flagship offering for POLST education, and we encourage all facilities, systems, and agencies to ensure at least one member of your team participates. We’ll be updating the training as specifics of the eRegistry operations become clear, and to include the updated form.
So, we’re excited about the POLST eRegistry and continue our commitment to ensuring that there is strong support for its operation within a well-equipped and knowledgeable ecosystem – all so that our patients with serious illness receive the care they want and don’t receive the treatment they don’t want.