2022-10-28

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:

BBHR: Interactive Patient Lists

Building a Better Health Record (BBHR)

As part of our documentation quality improvement initiative, we promote practical ways for clinicians to comply with minimum use norms.

Interactive Patient Lists

The Connect Care clinical information system (CIS) includes powerful tools for accessing, personalizing, building and sharing patient lists.

Those working on inpatient ward, consult or service teams can benefit from the creation of one or more personalized lists. Unfortunately, it can be daunting to know which columns (often with many similarly named options to choose from) to line up for a specific clinical need. 

A clinician-led working group has established standards for Patient List design and has used those to produce a growing set of high-performing, validated and clinician-recommended list columns (easy to recognize as descriptors start with "[AHS]"). In addition, a set of 6 patient list templates can help users initiate personal lists with preferred columns.

To start or adapt a "My List" personal list:

  • Use the "Edit List" menu (top left of Patient Lists activity) to pick the "Properties" submenu.
  • Look for a "Copy" button at the bottom left of the "Available Columns" section in the list editor. Click this.
  • Note the list templates with names that start with "++AHS IP MD..." (near the top of the pick-list) and select a template fitting the clinical workflow (e.g., ward rounds, ward consults, emergency consults).
  • Either use the patient list configuration as is, or add/remove columns to personalize. Columns that have descriptors starting with "[AHS]" are preferred.

A number of enhancements respond to user requests:

  • Content - Columns display succinct information that is formatted to comply with AHS standards.
  • Hover - Hovering over columns within patient rows triggers pop-up displays of relevant information.
  • Double-click - Activating a column within a patient row will either open a relevant editing tool within the list or will open the patient chart to a relevant activity.
  • Sorting - This is optimized for clinical use case.
  • Report - Again defaulted to best fit the clinical use case.
A number of Patient Lists resources have been updated:

2022-10-27

BBHR: RAPID Rounds Report Consolidates Transition Planning Information

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.

RAPID Rounds Report

When a patient (row) is selected in a Rapid Rounds patient list, a "report" displays either below or to the side of the list (user preference). The default report for Rapid Rounds is a transition planning report. The same report can be viewed as a pop-up by double-clicking within the Room/Bed or Length of Stay (LOS) columns in the patient list. And the report is always available from inpatient chart sidebars.

The new report functions like a planning dashboard. It gathers in one place all information that might be needed when preparing for discharge or transfer. More importantly, the report is interactive. The displayed information can be selected (click or tap) to view deeper layers of related information. And the data (e.g., pre-admission community supports) can be edited in-place, allowing work to be done in patient lists without having to open individual charts.

2022-10-26

BBHR: RAPID Rounds Patient List Supports Multidisciplinary Discharge Planning

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.

RAPID Rounds Patient List

"RAPID" (Review, Assess, Plan for Imminent Discharge) Rounds is a CoACT Collaborative Care activity that fosters communication within and between care team members, including patients and families. It facilitates timely coordination of care and decreases overall lengths of stay.

Connect Care provides a number of informational supports for Rapid Rounds, including:

  • Rapid Rounds Patient List - For use during multidisciplinary discharge planning rounds, this allows quick information access and documentation while reviewing a panel of inpatients.
  • Rapid Rounds Report - Provides a compressed summary of discharge planning information together with interactive tools for updating key data and multidisciplinary discharge readiness "traffic lights".
  • Transition Planning Sidebar - For use when a chart is opened to an inpatient encounter, replicating much of the information found in the Rapid Rounds report while speeding access to information best updated during day-to-day care.
Connect Care's patient lists serve as a gateway to inpatient workflows. A uniquely interactive list has been developed to support RAPID Rounds. This exposes information needed for discharge planning while allowing much of it to be updated without leaving the patient list.

2022-10-24

BBHR: Introducing the Connect Care Transition Planning Package

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.

Connect Care Transition Planning Package

Preparing for discharge begins at admission. Some admissions are straightforward, with dates and dispositions unfolding as expected. Others are complex and require coordinated multidisciplinary planning to facilitate safe transitions. 

Connect Care provides a new set of integrated supports that can help clinicians with complex discharges, while improving communication with healthcare providers for all discharges. These tools comprise a "transitions planning package" that includes:

  • Improved Admission and Discharge Navigators
  • Expected Discharge Date (EDD Management) tools
  • Daily Checklists
  • Rapid Rounds Lists and Reports
  • Transition Planning Sidebars
  • Transition Planning Documentation blocks
  • LACE Readmission Index calculations and recommendations
  • Provincial Standardized Discharge and Transfer Summaries
  • Communications to Electronic Health Record (Netcare) and Electronic Medical Records (eDelivery)

The next series of BBHR postings will focus on transition planning tools, highlighting how they work with tips, guides and demonstrations. 

Ordering Therapy Plans - Launch 5 Prescriber-Led Support Sessions

Edit: New session added.

Physicians and other prescribers who order recurrent, ongoing therapies (IVIG, blood, antimicrobials, etc.) known as Therapy Plans (pre-defined collection of related/standing orders that can apply to multiple/recurrent encounters over time) are invited to attend orientation sessions. The sessions explain the process of ordering Therapy Plans and will assist you when converting legacy orders and paper-based orders prior to Launch 5. There will be demonstrations of Therapy Plan workflows and an opportunity to address questions. 

The following sessions provide background information and context, focusing on workflows with demonstrations. Although important for Launch 5 prescribers who anticipate Therapy Plan use, all Connect Care prescribers are welcome, as many may benefit from a refresher.

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:

Prescriber Drop-In Centres Now Open - Virtual and On-Site

The Connect Care Launch 5 prescriber drop-in centres are now open! 

These centres are good for troubleshooting issues related to mobility, personal devices, dictation, personalization and workflows, as well as login, role and access problems. 

More information on the drop-in centres and their hours can be found at launchhelp.connect-care.ca. This link can also be accessed from the banner found at the top of each page of the Connect Care Manual.

A summary of "hot topics" or key issues being identified and addressed through the drop-in centres and other launch supports will be posted on our Support channel, with daily summaries starting launch day.

2022-10-20

Ambulatory Tips, Tricks, and Traps - Launch 5 Prescriber Support Sessions

The ambulatory component of basic Connect Care training for prescribers who also provide acute care is necessarily streamlined. However, some prescribers with a significant ambulatory workload may feel like they have not had sufficient exposure to the ambulatory tools and workflows in Connect Care via basic training to be comfortable navigating the Connect Care clinical information system during a busy clinic come launch. To help these users, the CMIO will be hosting additional ambulatory support sessions. 

These 1-hour sessions are an opportunity to see ambulatory workflows in action, to hear advice from providers who have been using Connect Care in busy outpatient practices, and to ask questions – all in anticipation of your first day in clinic on Connect Care.

To register for a session, click on the hyperlinked date for the session that works for you (the sessions are all the same). It will download and open a calendar invite for that session, which you can then respond to and receive the meeting information.

2022-10-14

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:

Countdown Checklist L5, T-minus 22: Confirm PRD Access

Continuing a list of essential actions for Connect Care Launch 5 prescribers readying for launch November 6, 2022...
  • Check your PRD (Production) Access
All prescribers who have completed their On Our Best Behaviours (InfoCare) training and Connect Care Proficiency Assessment (EUPA) should be able to log in to the full production version of Connect Care (PRD) by now.

Please do the following from within an AHS network (AHSRESTRICT) or from outside with the aid of an RSA security token:
  1. Go to myapps.ahs.ca and log in with your AHS username and password. Can't get in? See "Access Problems" in the Connect Care Manual.
  2. Once logged in to myapps.ahs.ca, ensure that the PRD (production) Connect Care icon is available. If not, see "CIS Access" in the Manual.


  3. Open PRD and log in with your AHS username and password. Can't get in? Contact AHS IT Service Desk or ConnectCare.SupportTeam.Security@ahs.ca
We are trying to identify Launch 5 users who somehow got missed in access provisioning. Do not expect access if OOBB (InfoCare) or EUPA is not complete.

2022-10-05

eCLINICIAN Viewer Launching October 7, 2022

With the launch of Connect Care in November 2019, the eCLINICIAN clinical information system has been maintained in read-only state to ensure that legacy clinical information remained accessible while plans for full decommissioning were being developed. As of October 7, 2022, the eCLINICIAN patient record access in Connect Care (via the “Other Clinical Systems” link in Storyboard or Sidebar) will be removed and replaced by an eCLINICIAN "Viewer." This will continue to provide access to key clinical information from the legacy system.

How does this impact me? 

The ability to access legacy clinical information will continue, but the access method may change:

  • Key clinical information required for continuity of care will be available in real time via the eCLINICIAN Viewer. Connect Care prescribers will be able to access this Viewer. 
  • eCLINICIAN Letters, Notes and Communications (encounters before July 1, 2017) can be found in the Viewer, but not in the original formatting. Images that were embedded in Progress Notes will not display in the Viewer.
  • The entire eCLINICIAN database has been added to the AHS Enterprise content management system ("Solix") which can recover and generate reports from legacy data.

Requests by Connect Care prescribers for information not available in the eCLINICIAN Viewer, or for purposes outside of continuity of care, can be submitted as follows: