CPRS Booster/Robotic Employee Accelerator
Last updated
Share PrintDiscover what over 30,000 VA employees already know: Booster is free, immediately available to all employees, and is widely touted as a boon to efficiency and work satisfaction.
Origin:
October 2020, Minneapolis VA Medical Center (Minneapolis, Minnesota)
Adoptions:
7 successful
Partners:
Office of Health Informatics, Office of Primary Care
Recent Updates
Overview
The problem
**** Please consider watching the 6 minute YouTube Video below about CPRS Booster
Computer systems used by healthcare workers are inefficient; contribute to job dissatisfaction and burnout; and detract from face-to-face patient care.
Computer systems used by healthcare workers are inefficient; contribute to job dissatisfaction and burnout; and detract from face-to-face patient care.
Videos
Above:
Booster: Robotic Employee Accelerator
The solution
Booster is computer automation platform which dramatically speeds use of VA computer systems by automating complex, tedious, redundant multistep actions. Now, with the press of a single keyboard button (usually a function key), Booster will automatically and very rapidly perform tasks that previously required extensive typing, use of the mouse, and processin
...
Booster is computer automation platform which dramatically speeds use of VA computer systems by automating complex, tedious, redundant multistep actions. Now, with the press of a single keyboard button (usually a function key), Booster will automatically and very rapidly perform tasks that previously required extensive typing, use of the mouse, and processing of multiple screens. Want to see a few workflows with and without Booster: check out the video below.
See
more
Videos
Above:
Let a Robot Speed Your Computer Work AND Free You From Mindless Computer Monotony
The results
CPRS Booster has been widely adopted and promoted within the Minneapolis VA. Multiple management leads, including the Chief of Staff, have recommend use of the tool. Booster instruction is now embedded as part of our employee onboarding process.
In addition, Booster has spread to many if not most facilities in the country: largely by word of mouth from o ... CPRS Booster has been widely adopted and promoted within the Minneapolis VA. Multiple management leads, including the Chief of Staff, have recommend use of the tool. Booster instruction is now embedded as part of our employee onboarding process.
In addition, Booster has spread to many if not most facilities in the country: largely by word of mouth from one employee to another.
The 13 minute video we made to teach people how to get and use Booster is the most 'liked' video of all videos on the VA's streaming platform (Stream): with twice as many 'likes' as the next most popular video. Over 30,000 employees have watched this video completely of their own accord: making this video one of the most watched videos in the VA system and THE most watched voluntary video (others are mandatory training). See more
In addition, Booster has spread to many if not most facilities in the country: largely by word of mouth from o ... CPRS Booster has been widely adopted and promoted within the Minneapolis VA. Multiple management leads, including the Chief of Staff, have recommend use of the tool. Booster instruction is now embedded as part of our employee onboarding process.
In addition, Booster has spread to many if not most facilities in the country: largely by word of mouth from one employee to another.
The 13 minute video we made to teach people how to get and use Booster is the most 'liked' video of all videos on the VA's streaming platform (Stream): with twice as many 'likes' as the next most popular video. Over 30,000 employees have watched this video completely of their own accord: making this video one of the most watched videos in the VA system and THE most watched voluntary video (others are mandatory training). See more
Metrics
- Please see the video at top of this page
- 1. Self-Reported Efficiency: in an anonymous survey of over 900 Booster users, employees were asked to rate how much Booster increased their efficiency compared to any other CPRS enhancement in their employment history. On a 0 to 10 scale where 0 indicated Booster wasn’t helpful and 10 indicated that Booster was the “Most helpful enhancement ever”: providers, nurses, pharmacists and MSAs all rated Booster as 9 or greater (avg).
- 2. Spontaneous national spread: one marker of Booster’s value to employees is the degree of spread/uptake. While we cannot directly track usage, we do know the number of people who have (voluntarily) watched the Booster instructional video: this now over 30,000 employees. This likely represents a minimum number of users since many Booster users start using without watching this video.
- 3. Qualitative: Please see top video above for unsolicited feedback from Booster users
Diffusion tracker
Does not include Clinical Resource Hubs (CRH)
Implementation
Timeline
-
1 month
Identify a CAC or RN who can act as a superuser, promoter and supporter of Booster within your facility -
2-12 months
Adam Bock MD, the creator of Booster, will meet quarterly with your CAC/RN to help maximize use and uptake within your facility.
Core Resources
| Resource type | Resource description |
|---|---|
PEOPLE |
|
TOOLS |
|
Risks and mitigations
| Risk | Mitigation |
|---|---|
| IT has extensively reviewed and approved Booster for national use | One of the extremely time consuming parts of building and spreading Booster was obtaining IT permission for this product. This was a year-long effort requiring multiple meetings with national IT/HIMS/Security. As a result of that work, Booster was authorized for national use. |
Contact
Comment
Comments and replies are disabled for retired innovations and non-VA users.
Email adam.bock@va.gov with questions about this innovation.
About
Origin story
Booster started in Minneapolis as an effort to reduce computer tedium and improve work efficiency. In an unexpected and (within the VA system) unprecedented turn of events, news of Booster spread like wildfire across the county by word for mouth from employee to employee. The mechanism for this spread was three fold:
1. Technically national spread was po
...
Booster started in Minneapolis as an effort to reduce computer tedium and improve work efficiency. In an unexpected and (within the VA system) unprecedented turn of events, news of Booster spread like wildfire across the county by word for mouth from employee to employee. The mechanism for this spread was three fold:
1. Technically national spread was possible because Booster is hosted on a server that any VA employee in the nation can access with a simple hyperlink. To make it even simpler (so that even the hyperlink address is not needed), we were able to place a shortcut to Booster within the 'Gold Star' of every VA in the country.
2. Employee Training: We created at 13 minute training video. The link to this video is what was shared from one employee to another. By watching this video, employees can learn how to immediately get Booster AND how to use it. This video has now been watched over 30,000 times (28k for current video, 2.5 k for prior version). The number of views increases daily. This video is one of the most watched video on the VA's video platform (MS Stream) and is the video with the most user 'likes' of any video in the VA video catalog.
3. Technical support: We set up detailed tech support information (accessible from within Booster) addressing the vast majority of issues users may encounter.
4. IT Approval: when Booster started spreading there was very significant organizational resistance (and, initially, no one helping us). Somewhat threatening emails were sent to us (we had 'violated the employee code of conduct', they said). And Booster was banned in parts of the country. Thankfully, at some point, several other groups started to help us in this national fight: the national office of primary care helped - as did a newly formed national group designed to reduce employee workload burden (Booster became one of two technologies for which this national group worked to get national approval: and, so far, the only one it has been successful with). In what was, for us, an exhausting, emotionally fraught and extremely time consuming process, we persisted for a year to get Booster to be approved: finally occurring earlier this year. I think it's safe to say: we survived trial by fire.
Original team
Adam Bock MD
Chief of Informatics, Minneapolis VA
Kurt Virnig
Senior IT Analyst, Office of information and Technology (OIT)
CPRS Booster is such a time & sanity saver, thanks to the team for developing and sharing it. Best thing about VA is how we share our best practices as a nationwide team.
Is there someone willing to share dot phrases for booster? Melissa.williamson1@va.gov Thanks!
Is there a training video on how to use booster? We have it at the Dayton VA but would like to watch a video on how to use it.
Adam Bock commented below:
Hi, The video below explains how to get and use CPRS Booster. It's about 13 minutes but you can speed up playback by using the little gear icon at the bottom of the video player. https://web.microsoftstream.com/video/c935ad80-37dc-4155-9126-3446c345ca32?channelId=1527ec07-e93e-4321-996e-336cfb24fdbb NOTE: Information about dot Phrases is in a separate video: https://web.microsoftstream.com/video/a2807765-eb8d-4a31-a742-88b7407d2f1a ALSO: Here is a video about how to SHARE dot phrases with others: https://web.microsoftstream.com/video/d5031989-99ce-46d8-924c-5f8d3552e119 If you do not have a 'gold star' and can't find a shortcut to Booster: Cutting and pasting the following address into a web browser address bar or into Windows folder system will access it. When presented with the option to open or save: CLICK OPEN: \\v23.med.va.gov\apps\GUI\MIN\MIN_GUI\Auto\CPRSBooster.exe The site below has FAQs and also a section to add enhancement requests for CPRS Booster. Please see this page: https://dvagov.sharepoint.com/sites/VHAHICOP/SitePages/CPRS_Booster.aspx Regarding dot phrases: all of the information needed is inside of Booster. Click the Dot Phrase button on the top Booster toolbar. There is a link inside that: ‘what the heck is a dot phrase’. thanks! Adam
penny detrie has a video that she made as well. i found her on teams and she sent it to me.
I made a how-to video on how to adopt this at our VA! Let's meet sometime - I would love to know new tips on how to use it even more efficiently!
I would like to see your video, I have been helping the staff at my facility implement it.
I have been with the VA for 8 years, i just found out about the booster 2 months ago, what a difference maker! I am trying to share it with everyone I know. I would love to be a superuser for this.
Hi,
The video below explains how to get and use CPRS Booster. It's about 13 minutes but you can speed up playback by using the little gear icon at the bottom of the video player.
https://web.microsoftstream.com/video/c935ad80-37dc-4155-9126-3446c345ca32?channelId=1527ec07-e93e-4321-996e-336cfb24fdbb
NOTE: Information about dot Phrases is in a separate video:
https://web.microsoftstream.com/video/a2807765-eb8d-4a31-a742-88b7407d2f1a
ALSO: Here is a video about how to SHARE dot phrases with others:
https://web.microsoftstream.com/video/d5031989-99ce-46d8-924c-5f8d3552e119
If you do not have a 'gold star' and can't find a shortcut to Booster:
Cutting and pasting the following address into a web browser address bar or into Windows folder system will access it.
When presented with the option to open or save: CLICK OPEN:
\\v23.med.va.gov\apps\GUI\MIN\MIN_GUI\Auto\CPRSBooster.exe
The site below has FAQs and also a section to add enhancement requests for CPRS Booster. Please see this page:
https://dvagov.sharepoint.com/sites/VHAHICOP/SitePages/CPRS_Booster.aspx
Regarding dot phrases: all of the information needed is inside of Booster. Click the Dot Phrase button on the top Booster toolbar. There is a link inside that: ‘what the heck is a dot phrase’.
thanks!
Adam
Please provide links on this page to "How to Obtain and Use Booster.," and other help videos; identify the name and location of the tool under the Gold star link; add link to the SharePoint page. Thanks
Is there a way to disable Alt-C in the booster?
This is also a problem for me, as Prosthetics uses FLOW for tracking prosthetic device timeliness and it already uses ALT-C for activating in CPRS
how do I start using this CPRS booster
I would like to become a superuser to teach Primary Care Providers.
I am familiar with this process of (.) phrase where I worked outside of the VA System . I would like to connect with you for a refresher and become a Super User again and present it to ECHCS. Thank you for bringing it to a full circle .