2021-08-27

On Other Channels...

Thank you for continuing to check (...ideally, subscribe to multiple channels; see instructions) the Connect Care update blog for prescribers. Recent additions to this blog and its various channels:

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2021-08-22

Reminder: Connect Care 180-Day Inactive Access Account Disabling

As previously posted, the Alberta Health Services Identity & Access Management (AHS IAM) team has activated a security practice for Connect Care whereby Connect Care user accounts that have not been accessed for 180 consecutive days will be inactivated. Users with inactive accounts will not be able to log in to Connect Care. The first day access to inactive accounts may be lost is Wednesday, August 25, 2021.

  • Anyone at risk of Connect Care account inactivation (no log ins for 150 days) is sent automated email notifications from “Identity Management”, the AHS IAM system.
    • Email notifications are sent both to the user and to the user's "Authorized Approver" (manager), with repeat notices 30, 15 and 2 days prior to the inactivation date. 
    • Email notifications identify the upcoming inactivation date and actions that can be taken to maintain access.
    • Prescribers may also receive additional email notifications from Provincial Medical Affairs.
  • If the Connect Care user fails to log in despite warnings, the account is switched to inactive status on the previously identified inactivation date. 
  • Inactive accounts can be reactivated if and when users return to active clinical work in Connect Care settings. Managers will work with the affected end user to determine the best pathway to renewed Connect Care access, including any training or other remediation that may be required.  

This inactivation protocol helps ensure that Connect Care users remain available for system alerts, information about new or changed features, and important clinical notifications. The protocol applies to all AHS employees, members of the medical and midwifery teams, students, volunteers, and other persons acting on behalf of AHS (including contracted service providers).

More information:

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2021-08-21

All Prescriber Bulletin - Ensure Documentation Files to Correct Record of Care

All-user-bulletins highlight stumbling blocks that all physicians need to be aware of when using the Connect Care clinical information system.

File Documentation to the Correct Record of Care

As the Connect Care clinical information system (CIS) continues to spread throughout Alberta, situations emerge where a program or facility has areas launched in Connect Care and others awaiting launch. Temporary "hybrid" contexts occur when part of a patient's experience is captured in Connect Care and other part(s) in legacy systems. 

Clinicians trained in Connect Care workflows may find themselves attracted to the convenience of in-system dictation, speech recognition or text automations when providing service in contexts where the CIS has yet to launch. Nonetheless all clinical documentation must be rendered and entered to the correct legal record of care.

The Connect Care Manual describes how to print material that needs to be added to a paper chart:

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2021-08-20

On Other Channels...

Thank you for continuing to check (...ideally, subscribe to multiple channels; see instructions) the Connect Care update blog for prescribers. Recent additions to this blog and its various channels:

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2021-08-18

BBHR: Minimum Use for Maximum Utility - Adverse Reaction Documentation

Building a Better Health Record (BBHR)
Minimum Use for Maximum Utility - Allergies and Adverse Reactions

Connect Care Minimum Use Norms highlight a few essential activities that all clinicians must share in order to promote patient safety, improve charting efficiency and minimize any one clinician's information burdens.

One norm relates to validating a patient's list of allergies and adverse reactions at appropriate intervals. We've noticed room for improvement.

Prescriber supports have been improved to clarify how allergy reconciliation can occur with minimum fuss and maximum benefit. Emerging problem oriented charting tools reward minimum use compliance with easier preparation of standardized clinical documentation.

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2021-08-17

Rural Cardiogram Scheduled Downtime - Example of secondary system downtimes

Most Connect Care users are familiar with planned Connect Care downtimes that are periodically scheduled to allow for system updates and technology maintenance. Primary downtime procedures for prescribers, including access to backup systems, are described in the Clinician Manual. 

Most clinical information system maintenance, including non-Epic systems integrated with Connect Care, can be scheduled during planned Connect Care downtimes. However, as Connect Care grows throughout Alberta, there may be times when focused secondary downtimes are needed.

Secondary health information systems provide Connect Care with important clinical data through information interfaces. They can be taken offline for short periods without affecting core Connect Care functionality. Examples include medical devices, such as electrocardiogram recorders, that use interface software to upload information that Connect Care incorporates into the patient chart. Such support systems may require periodic maintenance, possibly affecting just one facility or zone. To further the example, the rural interfaces for Holter monitor and electrocardiogram uploads will be down for one hour (20:00-21:00) on August 24, 2021 for scheduled maintenance.

Instructions specific to support system scheduled and unscheduled downtimes are included in Connect Care downtime resources for clinicians.
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2021-08-16

Webinar: Complex Lab Results in Patient Portals

As previously posted, more lab test results were made available last February in My Personal Records (MPR), found in MyHealth Records (MHR), the single access point for Albertans’ personal health information. These lab results are viewable through the MPR application. Making more results available online provides Albertans with more access to their health information and acts as an additional safety net for patient care within the system.

Through a series of rollouts, additional results are being added to MPR through to September. To date, the following results are now viewable as soon as they are released by the lab:

  • About 95% of the most commonly ordered (by volume) lab test results were viewable as of February 1. 
  • More complex results in pathology and other areas are being included in MPR on August 23.

Providers may notice some changes in their patterns of work, and may wish to consider giving patients more information about the implications of different results at the time of ordering a test. Physicians and other providers will continue to have access to results through their usual delivery channels.

For more information about the August 23 rollout, AHS will be hosting a 1-hour information webinar on Zoom: 

  • To register: 
    • Wednesday, August 18, 2021, 10:00-11:00
    • Please add this link to your calendars and join the Zoom meeting.
      • Dial by your location:  1 587 328 1099
      • Meeting ID: 980 6212 9635
      • Passcode: 884504
For more information about laboratory result release via portals:

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2021-08-10

Leave of Absence Workflow Improvements

When admitted patients leave an inpatient setting with expectation of return, they enter a "leave of absence" (LOA) status. Special provisions may be needed, including for things like medications to be taken while on leave. 

A LOA navigator (usually found within the Discharge activity in Hyperspace) helps clinicians take care of everything needed for a LOA. This now has a new section, “LOA Orders for Procedures”, to be used to continue all required inpatient medications when sending a patient to another site for a procedure.

If medications are not required during transfer, then the only requirement is placing an LOA order for the procedure in the Orders section.

The Clinician Manual, with attached tip sheets, has been updated:

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