Part of Alberta Health Services' COVID-19 pandemic response involves rapid collection and analysis of guidance for clinicians, staff and patients. A Scientific Advisory Group (SAG), reporting to the Emergency Coordination Centre (ECC), connects clinicians, operations, researchers and other experts to review, synthesize and interpret emerging evidence about management of COVID-related phenomena at population and patient levels.
Rapid Response Reports examine recommendations from provincial, national and international bodies, considering the supporting evidence and purported impacts. The reports back recommendations for AHS policy and practice. A helpful byproduct is an inventory of emerging evidence, recommendations and analyses.
SAG clinical guidance, together with recommendations emerging from Strategic Clinical Networks, Provincial Advisory Groups, Clinical Area Councils and other collaboratives, inform the production of decision, documentation and inquiry supports for clinical information systems (including Connect Care). Such "clinical content" provides clinicians with actionalbe aids to applying recommendations at the point of decision-making. Examples include order sets, documentation templates, calculators, flowsheets and reports; expressed in clinical information system and paper formats.
SAG recommendations and supporting reports are gathered online at a new AHS website: