The current Exchange 2007 system used for AHS email and calendar is no longer supported by Microsoft. As a result, all AHS accounts need to be upgraded to the new Microsoft Office 365 system by the end of August 2020.
During the week of August 24, AHS will update physician email infrastructure to Microsoft Office 365 services. Among other benefits, the update to these new services will offer more security protections. The change will impact how physicians access AHS email when using personal devices (e.g., office computer, laptop, tablet, smartphone).
Some physicians may have already received a notice sent to their AHS email account about this upgrade. Any included dates will be revised to fit with those listed here.
This update will affect AHS, Covenant Health and Alberta Precision Laboratory email accounts.
How does this change impact how you access your AHS email?
1. Webmail: Physicians will have access to their AHS email and calendar through an enhanced Outlook Web Portal. Once you are migrated, the new webmail is accessed using a full AHS email (firstname.lastname@ahs.ca as userid) and password at outlook.office.com.
2. AHS devices: Email accessed using Outlook on AHS computers will convert automatically. Apart from shutting down Outlook on the cutover night, no other changes are required.
3. Personal devices: AHS is introducing a "Bring Your Own Device" (BYOD) software solution for physicians. This is to help balance usability with supports to protect security and privacy of health data. Effective August 31, 2020, AHS email and calendar via Outlook will only be accessible on personal devices that are enrolled into the BYOD program (see Accessing AHS Email & Intranet webpage).
Support and resources
For additional information, please see the following:
For questions or concerns about the upcoming change, please contact the Messaging Upgrade team at: AHS.MessagingUpgrade@ahs.ca.
For technical issues after the upgrade, please contact the IT Service Desk at 1-877-311-4300 or open a support ticket here.
Sincerely,
Francois Belanger
Vice President, Quality, and Chief Medical Officer
Alberta Health Services