2018-04-23

How does Clinical System Design happen?

Clinical System Design (CSD) is about how we plan, design and build clinical content. Check out the online presentation to learn about how we are organizing the CSD processes to serve the Connect Care Needs.

2018-04-20

How is Clinical Content Built?

Clinical information system (CIS) clinical content includes documentation, decision and inquiry support tools that are built into the CIS to support best possible practice and Clinical System Design (CSD) is about how we plan, design and build clinical content. Check out the online presentation for a simple way to understand and classify content and CSD.

2018-04-19

Building the Connect Care Clinical Information System

Building the Connect Care clinical information system is our 'main event' now and for months to come. Diverse activities must be coordinated for design and build to progress as needed. The names of these -- Scope-setting, Groundwork, Foundation, Direction-Setting, Clinical System Design, Configuration, Build, etc. -- may be unfamiliar to many. Check out the latest clinician update video blog for a short presentation that likens Connect Care design and build to stages of construction.

2018-04-18

Connect Care Milestone Acheived

With high-level completion of Scoping, Groundwork, Direction-Setting, Technical Training and much of core Clinical System Design, the Connect Care initiative has substantially passed, on time, all milestones needed before starting build of the Alberta Health Services (AHS) clinical information system (CIS).

Our preparatory work of the last 3 years has proved a big help. As important has been the remarkably fast, adaptive and intense mobilization of Connect Care stakeholders since October 2017 when a contract was signed with Epic Systems, our prime technology partner.

Now begins the next phase of our journey. We will rely more and more on AHS staff trained to build and configure the Alberta foundation system. At the same time, we support our committees and councils as they move even faster to decide about CIS clinical content (decision supports, documentation supports and inquiry supports) to be built and validated over the next 10 months.

Thank you to all who have worked so hard, with so much good-spirited and creative adaptation, to get us ready for the next stage of the Connect Care journey.

2018-04-12

Clinical Informatics Leads Needed

The Chief Medical Information Office (CMIO) is seeking three Clinical Informatics Leads (CILs) to develop and support provincial and zonal informatics initiatives, including Connect Care. The CILs will spend about 20% of their time coordinating medical informatics activities across the province, and about 80% of their time supporting Associate Chief Medical Information Officers (ACMIOs) and Medical Informatics Leads in the zones. 

One CIL will support each of the five Alberta Health Services zones, participate in Connect Care governance and help with design and build activities, representing zone interests. They will support their zone ACMIO(s) with planning, strategies, and communications support. They will also develop and support zonal communities of practice as one of many strategies to promote Connect Care training, adoption and optimization by physicians. The CIL roles offer extraordinary career development for health professionals interested in health informatics.

More information: 
  • Clinical Informatics Lead (Edmonton) (ALB00036629)
  • Clinical Informatics Lead (Calgary) (ALB00036630)
  •  Clinical Informatics Lead (Edmonton or Calgary) (ALB00036632)
*Note:  The links were updated on May 11, 2018, and the postings close at 23:59, May 14, 2018. If the links do not work, go to  https://careers.albertahealthservices.ca/ and search for each position using the ALB######## Code). 

2018-04-11

Subscribing for Blog Alerts

Blogs and Vlogs (video blogs) can be a useful way to provide interested stakeholders with updates about Connect Care and its various activities, especially in areas where change is rapid.

With so much happening in Connect Care, so quickly, clinicians are offered a number of blogs suiting different interests and needs. Blogs can be open (no sign-in authentication required) or may require Alberta Health Services (AHS) intranet (HEALTHY domain) username and password credentials.
Updates can fan-out to stakeholders via preferred communications channels. This works best when stakeholders make use of blog subscription or newsreader features. A short tip sheet explains how this works for both open and AHS blogging platforms.

2018-04-10

Navigating Connect Care Committee Workspaces

Connect Care committees, councils and advisory groups are supported with Alberta Health Services (AHS) SharePoint workspaces. These keep important materials in one place, limiting the need to attach large files (which may later be updated) to emails and calendars. With few exceptions, collaborative workspaces are open to all AHS staff, while editing rights are restricted to co-chairs and secretariat or support staff. All committee, councils and advisory group workspaces can be found via one root location, which may request a valid AHS (HEALTHY) network user name and password in order to proceed. The workspaces all have the same structure and functions. Learning how to navigate one will make it easier to navigate any other oversight group of interest.

SharePoint has some unique behaviours, giving some users trouble with screen-to-screen navigation. A new Connect Care collaborative workspace tip sheet can ease the way.



2018-04-09

Direction Setting 2 - Key Decisions

Through Connect Care Direction Setting sessions, input is gathered from staff, physicians and patient advisors to help guide what will be included in the Connect Care clinical information system (CIS). Direction setting focuses on how commonly used workflows (tasks performed when providing patient care) are complemented by information flows and tools.

A high-level summary of decisions arising from the second set of direction setting sessions (mid-April 2018) represents areas of clear consensus. Areas of uncertainty or variability requiring further exploration are referred to Connect Care governance structures (committees, councils, advisory groups).

2018-04-03

Clinical System Design Decision Viewer

Connect Care scoping, groundwork, direction-setting and clinical system design decisions set an important context, and sometimes limits, that clinical content development groups need to be aware of when doing clinical system design (CSD) work. Some decisions, for example, determine principles or styles applicable to categories of design activities. Stakeholders need a way to quickly browse or search for simple statements of relevant approved decisions, together with any important context or implications.

A Connect Care CSD ‘Decision Viewer’ is linked to all committee and council workspaces. This online collection synopsizes decisions of broad import. The Viewer does not replace or conflict with the Connect Care Decision Tracker, which is the source of truth for decision management. Instead, the viewer can assist committee, council and advisory group members appreciate key decisions that new design work may depend upon.

2018-04-02

Provincial Provider Registry Integration Success

The Alberta Provincial Provider Registry holds in one place a definitive list of healthcare providers licensed to practice in Alberta and eligible for access to provincial health information systems. Previously, distinct databases were maintained by Alberta Health (AH) and Alberta Health Services (AHS). AHS registry information was further compartmentalized for provider information management in different clinical information systems (CIS).

The current single registry, used by both AH and AHS, supports the provincial electronic health record (Alberta Netcare). This registry is now also successfully established as the source of truth for the eCLINICIAN AHS CIS. As eCLINICIAN and Connect Care are both based on Epic Systems software, this bodes well for our upcoming Connect Care deployment. We anticipate Connect Care use of provincial registry services for providers, patients and facilities. The registry integration work also relates to patient attachment registry and physician self-serve registry initiatives.