Modernizing the FNIHB Clinical Practice Guidelines

The mandate of First Nations and Inuit Health Branch (FNIHB), Health Canada (HC) is to ensure First Nations and Inuit communities have access to health services; assist First Nations and Inuit communities in addressing health barriers and disease threats, attain health levels comparable to other Canadians living in similar areas; and build strong partnerships with First Nations and Inuit communities to improve the health system.

FNIHB, provides a continuum of Primary Health Care (PHC) Services /programs aimed at improving health outcomes for First Nations in a total of 77 remote and isolated First Nation Communities (south of the 60th parallel) serving a population of 95,000.

Registered nurses, based mostly in nursing stations and a few health centers with treatment component, are predominantly the first point of access to the healthcare system and central to the services delivered in these communities. Registered nurses are the largest group of healthcare providers in these communities.

The Clinical and Client Care (CCC) program has a leading role in supporting high quality and safe care delivered. The Clinical Practice Guidelines (CPGs) are key risk management tools that inform the clinical decisions of nurses delivering primary care services. CPGs are guided by current evidence-based data, reflect cultural sensitivity, and are context specific. The CPGs contribute to defining the scope of practice of a community health nurse in FNIH nursing stations.

The objectives of the project are as follows: To update the clinical evidence for the management of each health condition or presenting symptom included in the CPGs and convert the CPGs format to include order sets for the management sections of each health condition or presenting symptom. To introduce a select number of symptom based care algorithms. To regroup a select number of associated diagnoses managed the same way. To implement a mechanism to update/maintain the revised CPGs. To format CPGs to support future migration to an electronic environment.