On Other Channels...

Thank you for continuing to check the Connect Care update blog for prescribers (ideally, subscribe to multiple channels; see instructions). Recent additions to this blog and its various channels are listed below. Reminder that a camera icon in a blog post on any of our channels indicates that there is an accompanying screenshot - just click the icon to view. 

• General
• Building a Better Health Record: Integrated Discharge Planning Tool Eases Team Edits
• Document and Results Routing Optimization (Action May Be Required)
• Consult Order Optimization Project - Adult Medical (Part 1) Consult Orders
• Between the Charts: CMIO Newsletter for Prescribers - Issue 10 Now Available
• Launch 9
• Launch 9 Supports for Prescribers
• Countdown Checklist
• T-minus 74: Get Ready for Continuing Care Cutover
• T-minus 72: Choose Personal Device(s)
• T-minus 70: Confirm Remote Access
• T-minus 67: Report Wireless Gaps
• T-minus 65: Plan Workload Adjustments
• T-minus 63: Get Ready for Patient Movement
• Support
• Patient Lists Sortable by Location, Room, Bed
• Optimization Training - Classes in September
• Order for Pathologist Consult
• Tips
• Lab Ordering Tip - Adding on Additional Tests to Connect Care Orders
• Bridges
• Document and Results Routing Optimization Address-level Delivery Method (Action May Be Required)
• Manual
• See What's New (updates and additions)
• Between the Charts: CMIO Newsletter for Prescribers

Between the Charts: CMIO Newsletter for Prescribers - Issue 10 Now Available

Our monthly newsletter for prescribers, called "Between the Charts", summarizes key news items, Epic system updates, efficiency tips and extras that will help prescribers optimize their Connect Care user experience, all in two pages. The next issue is now out, available at the below link! This issue includes information on:

• Fall Connect Care upgrade and downtime
• Optimization Training classes in September
• New Connect Quality project on improving Problem List use, to meet CPSA's Standards of Practice Quality Improvement requirement
• Enhancement to Admission and Discharge navigators
• Upcoming Glucometer Overview column in Patient Lists
• Sorting Patient Lists by location
• Upcoming admission and discharge In Basket notifications
• Adding on additional lab tests
• Address-level document and results delivery for mixed-context providers
• And more!

The previous issues can still be accessed, via the archive in the Connect Care Manual. 

If you have any feedback on this issue or have a suggestion for content you'd like included in a future issue, please send us an email.

• Newsletter: Between the Charts - August 2024
• Manual: Between the Charts Archive (news.connect-care.ca)
• Feedback: CMIO-Manual@ahs.ca

Consult Order Optimization Project - Adult Medical (Part 1) Consult Orders

As previously posted, the Consult Order Optimization Project seeks to ensure that inpatient consult orders only exist in facilities where that service is provided using the consult order process. The next phase of the project goes live Tuesday, August 27, 2024, and focuses on Adult Medical (part 1) consult orders.

• Where a consult order does not exist within a facility: 
• For non-urgent consults or those for telephone advice only, consider calling/paging directly using the Regional On-Call Application (ROCA) or local call schedule information.
• For urgent consults or for patients requiring inter-facility acceptance/transfer, use the Connect Care RAAPID Service Request Order. No phone calls are required, unless the patient condition changes.
• For hyper-emergent situations requiring the most expeditious consult or transport, call RAAPID by phone directly (do not use Connect Care RAAPID Service Request Order).
• If you detect any errors in the list of affected orders found in the zonal PowerPoint presentations linked below (i.e., a missing order or an order present that should not be), please submit a ticket or call Help Desk 1-877-311-4300. 
• Please specify which consult order and whether you are the consultant that responds to that consult order or the attending, ED physician or other clinician requesting that service for your patient.

For more information: 

• See page 10 of relevant zone presentation for list of affected Adult Medical consult orders:
• Presentation: Consult Order Optimization - North Zone
• Presentation: Consult Order Optimization - Edmonton Zone
• Presentation: Consult Order Optimization - Central Zone
• Presentation: Consult Order Optimization - Calgary Zone
• Presentation: Consult Order Optimization - South Zone
• Manual: Consultation Workflows
• Tip: Inpatient Consult Orders
• Tip: Inpatient Consult Fulfillment
• Manual: Patient Lists

Document and Results Routing Optimization (Action May Be Required)

On August 25, 2024, Alberta Health Services (AHS) Connect Care will be able to deliver more clinical documents and results to specific provider locations (typically where the patient was seen, rather than a default provider address). This may affect results delivery settings for some providers.  

Providers working at more than one health service location have been contacted with a request to verify their primary or default clinical address. In addition, prescribers are asked to confirm delivery methods for any additional practice locations. (Note: To have this change in effect on August 25, change requests must be received by AHS by August 19; change requests submitted later will be processed as soon as possible.)

Most prescribers are not affected. However, mixed-context providers (using Connect Care at AHS facilities and a different record of care elsewhere) will be able to choose a primary results delivery address other than the default Connect Care In Basket. If activated, this option causes results for tests ordered when working at AHS (currently received via Connect Care In Basket) to be sent to the alternate primary location. Results are always available in Connect Care. 

To choose a routing preference, prescribers should consider where results should be received if a test requisition does not include a service location. In most cases, the best primary location will be where most clinical work is done. For providers that work at AHS and elsewhere equally, the best primary delivery location may continue to be Connect Care In Basket. The system will use a patient's relationship with a primary care provider to help redirect information to where the patient was seen.

This change is one in a series of results delivery optimizations. Prescribers may continue to receive some duplicate results, but these should arrive at the most appropriate location. Future enhancements will significantly reduce duplicate result deliveries. 

For more information, see the Connect Care Results Routing Optimization Overview. 

• Support: Call the AHS Provincial Service Desk: 1-877-311-4300 (select option 1 for Clinical Applications, then option 1 for Connect Care; have your PracID available).
• More information: FAQ: Document and Results Routing Optimization Address-level Delivery Method (Specific to Provider Location/clinic)
• To request a copy of your “Confirm your results delivery methods & locations” letter: Email resultsrouting@ahs.ca. Include your name, provider ID and clinic address(es). 

BBHR: Integrated Discharge Planning Tool Eases Team Edits

Building a Better Health Record (BBHR)

As part of our documentation quality improvement initiative, we promote practical ways for clinicians to provide clear and actionable communication at transitions of care.

Integrated Discharge Planning 'Traffic Lights'

The Rapid Rounds patient list includes a "Readiness" column with 'traffic light' symbols indicative of a patient's readiness for discharge. This indicator is based upon determinations from multiple health care disciplines. Double-clicking on the column icon for a patient brings up an integrated discharge planning tool that facilitates simultaneous editing of readiness, expected discharge date, discharge destination and level of care. 

The same tool can be adctivated from the Rapid Rounds Report (click on the "discharge readiness" section text) or the chart Sidebar Transition Plan (again, click on the "discharge readiness" section text).

• Demo: Discharge Readiness Integrated Planner
• Manual: Transition Planning

On Other Channels...

Thank you for continuing to check the Connect Care update blog for prescribers (ideally, subscribe to multiple channels; see instructions). Recent additions to this blog and its various channels are listed below. Reminder that a camera icon in a blog post on any of our channels indicates that there is an accompanying screenshot - just click the icon to view. 

• General
• Between the Charts: CMIO Newsletter for Prescribers - Issue 9 Now Available
• Transition of AHS Personal Network Drives to Microsoft OneDrive
• Consult Order Optimization Project - Pediatric Surgical Consult Orders
• Consult Order Optimization Project - Pediatric Medical Consult Orders
• Launch 9
• Countdown Checklist
• T-minus 95: Are you in?
• T-minus 93: Get Training
• T-minus 91: Consider Training Options
• T-minus 86: Check Alberta Referral Directory
• T-minus 84: Bookmark Prescriber Resources
• T-minus 81: Bookmark Manual and Updates
• T-minus 79: Complete InfoCare (On Our Best Behaviours) Training
• T-minus 77: Confirm AHS Network Access
• Tips
• Tippy - Quick Set Primary Provider Team for Inpatients
• Tippy - Note to MRHP Replaces "Doctor's Clipboard"
• Tippy - Separating "My Patients" Lists for Different Facilities
• Tippy - Email Notification of New In Basket Messages
• Manual
• See What's New (updates and additions)
• Between the Charts: CMIO Newsletter for Prescribers

Consult Order Optimization Project - Pediatric Medical Consult Orders

As previously posted, the Consult Order Optimization Project seeks to ensure that inpatient consult orders only exist in facilities where that service is provided using the consult order process. The third phase of the project goes live Tuesday, August 13, 2024, and focuses on Pediatric Medical consult orders.

• Where a consult order does not exist within a facility: 
• For non-urgent consults or those for telephone advice only, consider calling/paging directly using the Regional On-Call Application (ROCA) or local call schedule information.
• For urgent consults or for patients requiring inter-facility acceptance/transfer, use the Connect Care RAAPID Service Request Order. No phone calls are required, unless the patient condition changes.
• For hyper-emergent situations requiring the most expeditious consult or transport, call RAAPID by phone directly (do not use Connect Care RAAPID Service Request Order).
• If you detect any errors in the list of affected orders found in the zonal PowerPoint presentations linked below (i.e., a missing order or an order present that should not be), please submit a ticket or call Help Desk 1-877-311-4300. 
• Please specify which consult order and whether you are the consultant that responds to that consult order or the attending, ED physician or other clinician requesting that service for your patient.

For more information: 

• See page 9 of relevant zone presentation for list of affected Pediatric Medical consult orders:
• Presentation: Consult Order Optimization - North Zone
• Presentation: Consult Order Optimization - Edmonton Zone
• Presentation: Consult Order Optimization - Central Zone
• Presentation: Consult Order Optimization - Calgary Zone
• Presentation: Consult Order Optimization - South Zone
• Manual: Consultation Workflows
• Tip: Inpatient Consult Orders
• Tip: Inpatient Consult Fulfillment
• Manual: Patient Lists

Transition of AHS Personal Network Drives to Microsoft OneDrive

The Microsoft Technologies Program at AHS is modernizing its services by transitioning all staff and affiliates from personal network drives to Microsoft OneDrive. This cloud-based storage application offers improved access and security for users who have stored personal work files using AHS tools.

The OneDrive project involves copying and moving all files from existing personal network drives to the OneDrive application, which is hosted on AHS/Microsoft 365 cloud storage servers. This transition is a prerequisite for effectively using all components of the AHS Microsoft 365 application suite.

The transition process is being done in phases and is expected to be completed by December 2024. The transition of prescribers’ personal network drives will be done in batches, beginning August 12, 2024.

Impacts of OneDrive Project File Migration

The migration to OneDrive will affect two groups of prescribers: those who use their personal devices for AHS clinical work, and those who use AHS devices.

1. Prescribers using personal devices: The use of Microsoft 365 and OneDrive is optional and depends on each prescriber’s workflow and preferences. Prescribers using their own personal computers or mobile devices will see no configuration or access changes. Files currently stored in AHS personal drives will be copied and moved to AHS OneDrive.
2. Prescribers using AHS devices: The OneDrive Project will move the current contents of prescribers’ personal network drives, as well as the AHS computer’s desktop, documents, and pictures folders to AHS OneDrive. No files will be changed or deleted as part of this migration process.

Prescribers will receive detailed instructions via email approximately one week before their personal network drive is transitioned. The below memo also includes further details, with links to more resources. For more information on the Microsoft Technologies Program and the OneDrive project, visit Insite. 

• Memo: Information about transition of AHS personal network drives to Microsoft OneDrive