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:
Update (17:00): All AHS clinical information systems, including Connect Care, will be accessible as of 18:00 (January 23, 2023) and can be used for patient care.
Please follow standard Downtime and Recovery Procedures and be attentive to data update needs as downtime information is captured. Prescribers should be sure to check the following:
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UPDATE (14:00): The technical issue causing the provincial network outage has been resolved and teams are working quickly to restore all clinical systems.
This work will take a few hours. Services are carefully being restored with priority being given to critical patient care areas, such as emergency departments. Please continue to use downtime procedures for now.
Further updates will be provided with instructions on when and how to log back into clinical systems and update information as needed.
We are reviewing the cause of the technical issue to learn how we can prevent this from happening in the future.
Thank you again for your support and understanding.
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UPDATE (12:30): The network problem has been solved and clinical systems will return to full functionality shortly. However, users are not able to log on to Connect Care until a careful and orderly process for restarting all the systems that Connect Care depends upon. Until then, the "SRO" read-only version of Connect Care is available now (same Connect Care logon credentials) and can provide patient information up till 07:30.
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Attention all Connect Care users!
AHS is experiencing a provincial network outage, which is impacting many IT and clinical systems, including Connect Care.
All impacted systems should move to downtime procedures. The IT Solution Centre and Service Desk cannot be reached at this time. IT teams are working to identify a resolution as quickly as possible.
Due to the provincial scale of the network outage, some services are immediately affected:
For Connect Care users, please refer to : Connect Care Manual - Downtime Support (connect-care.ca)
If inpatient prescribers need information about AHS inpatients, go to the nursing station where the majority of your patients are located and ask for assistance from a team member able to log into the back up computers (BCA) to see patient information (current as of start of downtime 07:30).
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:
The majority of community electronic medical records (EMRs) are now enabled for eDelivery of shared outpatient letters. If you would like a letter sent to a recipient's primary eDelivery location, a “Shared Externally” letter template must be used.
What has changed: Recipient(s) of any letter written using a “Shared Externally” template will receive a copy to their EMR via eDelivery, provided they are registered for that service. Please note:
For further information, see the memo, tip sheet, and other linked resources:
Prescribers who order recurrent, ongoing therapies (IVIG, blood, antimicrobials, procedures, etc.) known as Therapy Plans (pre-defined collection of related/standing orders that apply to multiple/recurrent encounters over time) are invited to attend a prescriber-led demonstration of the workflow. The sessions demonstrate the process of ordering Therapy Plans, and will prepare you for entering orders post-launch and when asked to review converted legacy orders prior to launch.
The following sessions are scheduled prior to Launch 6. Although important for Launch 6 prescribers who have current patients with scheduled therapies, it is recommended for any prescriber who anticipates using these ordering tools. All Connect Care prescribers and clinicians who order or action Therapy Plans are welcome and encouraged to attend.
Clicking on the hyperlinked date for a session will open a calendar invite for that session, which you can then respond to and receive the meeting information.
For more information, please see the below resources:
Our countdown timer has reappeared again (see top of left column, just above the Search box)!
The Connect Care Launch 6 date is set for the early hours of Saturday, May 6, 2023. This wave will bring many sites into the Connect Care fold, including the following:
Prescribers were polled about how Connect Care affects the care they provide. The following slideshow summarizes key points...
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With 8,779 professionals having completed Chief Medical Information Office (CMIO) training for Connect Care, the CMIO has developed a four-tier optimization training strategy to foster continuous learning for those in previous launches (Waves 1-3 and Launches 4-5).
All Connect Care users who fall under the scope of CMIO training will be able to access optimization support via their local leadership. Users can combine facets of optimization from any tier, in any order, to best address their unique needs.
In Tiers 1 and 3, users can drive their own learning through the available resources and modules; in Tiers 2 and 4, Medical Informatics Leads, Super Users, and Zone Clinical Department Heads will help champion this learning for their colleagues and staff.
For more information, see the Optimization Training page in the Connect Care Manual.
As we approach the end of the fourth week of Connect Care at the Launch 5 sites, the CMIO Virtual Drop-in Centre has now closed, and many Super Users have been pulled back. Though the launch support period may have ended at your site, that is not the end of Connect Care support available for prescribers.
It is expected that new users will continue to have questions as they encounter situations perhaps not covered in basic training, or when returning to a workflow they need a refresher on, or when there is an opportunity to dive into some of the more advanced tricks and tools available to get the most out of the Connect Care clinical information system (CIS) and make your user experience smoother. There are a number of post-launch supports in place for these reasons.
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Personalization sessions for Connect Care's in-system dictation software, Dragon Medical One (DMO), are coming up for Connect Care Launch 5 prescribers. Those in previous launches (Waves/Launches 1-4) are also welcome to attend.
The personalization sessions are scheduled for the following dates/times:
Registration is through MyLearningLink (MLL) (course name: Dragon Medical One (DMO) - Dictation Optimization Sessions), and sessions are via Zoom.
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:
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:
Starting November 16, 2022, some results from outside of the Calgary Zone will be suppressed from In Basket to reduce duplicate reports related to Calgary Zone patients. This is an interim state and will revert at some future date.
For more information, see the memo.
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:
Connect Care Launch 5 has gone well, credit to the clinicians, leaders, trainers, Super Users and many others who have worked so hard to prepare.
Launch success is less about absence of problems and more about rapid attention to problems. In this, Launch 5 is doing extraordinarily well. Most issues are resolved quickly. Many stimulate improvements that benefit entire Connect Care community.
What's left are a few tricky problems. These are context-dependent. When a specific print fails, for example, the fault can be device-specific or, sometimes, an intersect of device, department, function and location.
Cleaning up tricky problems is a group effort. Our technical specialists need users to:
Our new Connect Care Launch 5 prescribers are on the steeper part of their learning curve. Help is available!
A powerful way to reinforce basic training, while busy with clinical work, is to consider one or two high-impact tips per day. To that end, we regularly post "Tippies" on the Connect Care Tips channel (tips.connect-care.ca), which contain some simple but impactful suggestions as well as some more advanced tips.
The easiest way to follow these postings is to subscribe to the Tips blog channel. Also consider subscribing to both the FAQ (questions.connect-care.ca) and the Support (support.connect-care.ca) channels. We answer common questions on the former and provide important news about fixes and enhancements on the latter.
Problem reports (help.connect-care.ca "tickets") have been well within expectations so far with Connect Care Launch 5. Of course, more tickets are expected as clinical volumes ramp up with more outpatient activity. The good news is that tickets are resolved quickly, with critical tickets resolved within minutes to hours.
Helpdesk tickets route most efficiently when the user provides clear information at the right level of detail. See our tips for impactful issue reports:
Although these Connect Care blog postings have been linked to Twitter notifications for a number of years, few of our target viewers use those feeds for following Bytes and related CMIO blogging channels.
The time seems right to leave the Twitter platform. Accordingly, all repostings are stopped and the associated Twitter accounts have been deleted.
Computerized Provider Order Entry (CPOE) refers to the process of a medical prescriber entering orders electronically via a digital health record.
CPOE involves much more than simply transcribing an order. The ordering process activates decision supports, patient safety protections and other aids to quality improvement. With a little practice, the CPOE process can also be much faster than written or verbal equivalents, as favourites, panels, personalizations and other automations come into play. In addition, Connect Care mobile apps make order entry immediately accessible from tablets and smartphones, any time, anywhere.
It is a Minimum Use expectation for all prescribers that all tests, interventions and medications that can be ordered in Connect Care are ordered in Connect Care. Compliance is tracked in prescriber performance metrics.
Very few exceptions to CPOE are acceptable, as summarized in Connect Care Ordering Norms.
All Connect Care systems activated on time at 05:00!
Today, Connect Care welcomes 135 sites from across the province into the family, including Cancer Care Alberta and Alberta Kidney Care South. The first few days will be intense, but with lots of help at hand we are confident that progress will be fast.
Prescribers, please make use of the drop-in centres and other launch supports (launchhelp.connect-care.ca). Watch this channel for any updates, as well as the Support channel for information on "hot topic" common issues that have been flagged for Launch 5 prescribers.
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:
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: