2020-09-16

On Other Channels...

Thank you for continuing to check (... ideally, subscribe to; see right sidebar instructions) the Connect Care Update blog for prescribers. Some recent additions to this blog and other channels:

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2020-09-15

Patient Movement Virtual Drop-In Sessions

Patient movement is about how information flow supports healthcare flow.

A trauma patient can, for example, require task distribution among emergency, critical care, operating room, ward, interventional diagnostics and other care contexts. Each may have focus for a time, with orders and documentation appropriate to that time. 

The Patient Movement Team continues to study tricky-transitions, simplify user guides and facilitate change-management. The latest Drop-In supports build on prior Patient Movement Fundamentals Webinars and Patient Movement Bootcamps.

Virtual Drop-In sessions (10 in all) are offered between September 21 – October 2, 2020, during the noon hour, providing ample opportunity to get answers to questions about patient movement workflows in Connect Care.  Advance questions, issues and demo requests are welcome (see request link below).  

No questions? The Drop-Ins still give opportunity to learn more movement workflows and to share ideas with colleagues. The sessions adopt an informal question and answer approach.  
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2020-09-11

Clinical Inquiry Clinics - Case 1 Prep

We've previously announced a series of "Connect Care Inquiry Clinics" occurring weekly via Zoom (repeated to accommodate participant schedules) with the first clinic facilitated by Rob Hayward on September 15 and 17, 2020:

The clinics by no means cover all that is worth knowing about inquiry support tools. Instead, we take the perspective of a curious clinician; seeking to improve processes and outcomes at the level of individuals or groups. Clinics offer an opportunity to explore practical uses of inquiry tools, while sharing some clinician-friendly tips. 

We will start with a review of features and enhancements in the Reporting Workbench (My Reports) toolkit, including strategies for finding, favouriting and organizing stock reports.  Our first "case" imagines a clinician seeking lists of patients served, their prevalent problems, and possible interventions.

We'll will align new blog postings (look in the informatics, questions and tips channels) and Manual additions to the theme of each clinic.

Participants are encouraged to check the Manual section on Reporting Workbench pre-clinic. 
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2020-09-10

All Prescriber Bulletin: Issues with Scanned Documents

All-user-bulletins highlight developments that all physicians need to be aware of when using the Connect Care clinical information system.

Scanned Document Viewing Issues - Temporary
Connect Care upgrades were performed during a downtime in the early hours of September 10, 2020. Enterprise Content Management, which takes care of scanned documents added to the digital health record, was among the systems updated. 

Some users have experienced problems viewing scanned objects (e.g., external electrocardiograms) or scanning and adding new objects.

Central fixes are being applied, with expectation that scan-related error messages will rapidly disappear.

In the meantime, users are advised to avoid the Media tab in Chart Review if the same information can be obtained via the Imaging, Cardiology or Encounter (use ECS-Pt button to access scanned documents associated with an encounter) tabs.

New scanning should be avoided until expanded capacity comes online, with any urgent materials sent to the Health Information Management department onsite with a request for scanning.

We will post again only if all problems are not resolved by end of working day.
Update (2020-09-10, 16:00): The causative issue has been isolated and fixed. Generation, attachment and viewing of scanned objects is restored to normal function.
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2020-09-09

September Upgrade Complete - Lots of Enhancements

We previously posted about a substantive September 10, 2020 Connect Care upgrade, and a downtime now successfully completed.

There are no changes requiring re-training or new workflows. However, there are many user interface improvements and fixes that can improve users' experiences. Too many to take in all at one time.
We'll post enhancement notices daily in the Support channel (button above or support.connect-care.ca), which users can subscribe to. The enhancements thread can be specifically tracked via enhancements.connect-care.ca.

Today's posting is about improvements to the Patient Storyboard. Also note a new Support posting about the need for Haiku and Canto users to ensure that they have the most recent version of the app.
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2020-09-08

Feedback and Suggestions Welcome!

The Connect Care Manual (manual.connect-care.ca), blogs (blogs.connect-care.ca) and other resources (resources.connect-care.ca) are stewarded by the Alberta Health Services Chief Medical Information Office Editorial Board.

Mindful that we are soon to welcome another wave of prescribers to the Connect Care community, we are working to keep CMIO prescriber supports current, relevant and responsive. This includes upgrades to modernize the file repositories that make the Manual, Handbook, Glossary and blogs possible. A few broken links may emerge as the work wraps up.

All of our users are encouraged to report problems, suggest improvements, or help guide new content.

A "Feedback" button, keyed to the editorial board intake email, "cmio-manual@ahs.ca," is added to the bottom of all Manual pages, as well as to links in the right column of all blogs. Please feel free to help us help you!
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2020-09-07

On Other Channels...

Thank you for continuing to check (... ideally, subscribe to; see right sidebar instructions) the Connect Care Update blog for prescribers. Some recent additions to this blog and other channels:
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2020-09-04

Clinical Inquiry Clinics - Case 1 - Provider-Patient Associations

We've previously posted about this being a good time to explore Connect Care's measure, report, visualization, dashboard and other inquiry support tools. Excellent reporting training opportunities continue to be available via MyLearningLink.

Some of us could benefit from working through practical examples. Earlier we polled Connect Care clinicians for common inquiry needs. Responses provided use "cases" where use of one or more reporting tools could address a clinical need.

Connect Care Inquiry Clinics explore these user-submitted cases, considering the best match of problem to tool. Resources are provided, casework is shared, and participants are encouraged to adapt learnings to their particular needs. Case referrals are accepted where available Connect Care tools can be used to advantage with data already accrued (rob.hayward@ahs.ca).

Inquiry Clinics occur weekly via Zoom, are announced here a week in advance, and are repeated to accommodate participant schedules:
  • Tuesday noon (12:00-13:00)
  • Thursday noon (12:00-13:00) repeat
The first clinic is scheduled for September 15 and 17, 2020. The first case starts simple; exploring how to generate lists of patients with specified characteristics, as might serve a prescriber wondering how frequently a health condition is encountered.
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New: Enhancement Alerts

Enhancement updates provide short alerts to new, fixed or improved Connect Care functions...
  • Connect Care Enhancement Alerts
The Connect Care team attends to problem and improvement requests submitted by users via the Concierge (help.connect-care.ca), committees, councils and other routes. The numbers are impressive, with enhancements continually added to the clinical information system. Users, however, may not always appreciate which requests have been fulfilled and when. And it can be hard to filter out the changes most relevant to prescribers.

We have started to post short alerts to significant enhancements that may affect prescribers' experiences. These appear as a thread (category) within our the Connect Care support blog (support.connect-care.ca), to which users can subscribe. We will additionally call out important enhancements in "On Other Channels" postings.
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2020-09-02

Nice Nod to Connect Care and Virtual Health Services

Dr. Daniel Baumgart has posted a nice call-out about the value of strong digital infrastructure when responding to the demands of a pandemic... with Connect Care highlighted.

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2020-09-01

On Other Channels...

Thank you for continuing to check (... ideally, subscribe to; see right sidebar instructions) the Connect Care Update blog for prescribers. Quick recent highlights in blog and other channels:
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2020-08-31

Clinical Inquiry Newsletter - August 2020

We've previously posted about how Connect Care in-system inquiry tools can help AHS grow as a learning healthcare organization.

The Connect Care Clinical Inquiry Newsletter offers an excellent way for those interested to keep updated about developing capabilities, supports and processes related to clinical inquiry, with the August Issue including the following topics:
  • Research Staff Courses
  • Research Overview Webinars
  • Finding information about Connect Care reporting content
  • Research Support Update
  • Wave 2 Launch Dashboards
  • Connect Care Reporting Training
The Newsletter releases monthly. For those interested in the same content via shorter but more frequent communications, subscribe the Clinical Inquiry Blog. 
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2020-08-23

Handling (Rare) Dual Provider Records in Connect Care

Connect Care users may notice that some prescribers (physicians, nurse practitioners, etc.) listed in the clinical information system phone book (and associated look-ups) more than once. Users need to take care when choosing a provider record to match the provider to the correct care context.

Some health care providers care for patients in more than one province; most commonly affecting Connect Care when physicians perform clinical duties in both Alberta (AB) and the Northwest Territories (NT). The non-Alberta role is indicated by a two-letter provincial abbreviation in parentheses.

For more detail:
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2020-08-21

Connect Care Wave 2 Training Registration... NOW

Registration is now open for CMIO Connect Care training (physicians, nurse practitioners, etc.) participating in the Wave 2 launch October 24, 2020.

Email notifications have gone out from Edmonton Zone Medical Affairs to all affected physicians. Separate notifications have gone out from Advanced Practice Nursing. Prescribers are invited to register for training with instructions about how to do this through MyLearningLink (mylearninglink.ahs.ca).

Prescriber training is offered in three modes:
  1. In-classroom training (COVID prevention precautions in place)
  2. Virtual training (via Zoom)
  3. Online training through independent learning modules
The best mix of learning modes will be determined for each trainee, partly reflecting the skills required to use Connect Care for a specific practice context.  Super Users will fan out to assist with training while building relationships with the user groups they will support at launch.

Already, 41% of physicians have registered for Basic Training and 26% for Personalization Training.

Prescribers who expect but have not received a training invitation should contact:
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2020-08-20

On Other Channels...

Thank you for continuing to check (... ideally, subscribe to; see right sidebar instructions) the Connect Care Update blog for prescribers. Activity has ramped up in blog and other channels:
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2020-08-18

More on AHS Email Migration to Office 365

The following information, from Dr Francois Belanger (AHS Chief Medical Officer) adds detail to our earlier announcement:


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:
·         Frequently asked questions
·         BYOD iOS enrolment guide
·         BYOD Android enrolment guide

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

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2020-08-17

AHS Secure Email Upgrade Coming for Physicians

Alberta Health Services (AHS) will soon complete an upgrade of its email infrastructure for physicians, offering better security for AHS and for end users. The change to Microsoft Office 365 will impact how physicians access AHS secure email. After a physician account is migrated:
  • Microsoft Outlook will be the only email client (software application) that can be used for management of AHS email on personal devices (smart phone, tablet, laptop, desktop computers).
  • Use of Microsoft Outlook on personal devices requires installation of a "Workspace ONE (WSO)" software application which creates a protected space where Outlook can work.
  • AHS email will otherwise be accessible through an enhanced web interface (WSO not required) on personal devices, or through Outlook on AHS-managed workstations.  
The same WSO "Bring Your Own Device (BYOD)" software will ease access to most AHS-hosted applications used by physicians, including clinical information systems.

For more information:  
For questions or feedback about the upcoming change, please contact the AHS Messaging Upgrade team at: AHS.MessagingUpgrade@albertahealthservices.ca.

For technical support after the upgrade, please contact the IT Service Desk at 1-877-311-4300 or open a support ticket (sign in with your AHS username and password).

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2020-08-16

Worth following... iThoughts.

Improving Health Outcomes Together (or "IHOT") is an exciting initiative within the Alberta Health Services (AHS) Quality Health Improvement portfolio.

A new iTHOUGHTS blog (https://ahsqualitytalks.blogspot.com or http://ahs-cis.ca/ithoughts) seeks to recognize, support and spread the innovation and quality improvement excellence that is happening throughout AHS and beyond. The blog provides a space to reflect, connect, and inspire excellence in quality improvement.

One can subscribe to receive email alerts to new postings.

Check it out! ahsqualitytalks.blogspot.com
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2020-08-15

Improvements to Lab Requisition Management

Connect Care "transition" states can frustrate clinicians. A Zone is in transition when some health information is handled within Connect Care and other functions remain on paper, or within other systems.

Two big transitional challenges relate to 1) prescriptions entered in Connect Care but and dispensed under another system (e.g., community pharmacy without e-prescribing), and 2) laboratory tests ordered in Connect Care but performed in another system (e.g., community lab not yet integrated with provincial lab services). Until Connect Care fully deploys, clinicians may struggle with hybrid workflows involving printers and paper.

Recent enhancements improve hybrid laboratory workflows, especially the efficiency of printed requisitions and the ease of creating reprints when needed. 

Now clinicians can reprint multiple laboratory test requests on a single page (akin to the old paper lab requisitions) when the test is to be performed outside Connect Care facilities. Should a new requisition be required, clinicians can generate these as needed via the "Labs" tab of chart review.
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2020-08-14

Consent Navigator Updates

The Connect Care clinical information system supports procurement and documentation of a wide range of patient consents.

The "Consent Navigator" continues to benefit from enhancements, recently:
  • Improved supports for correcting errors or invalid documents, including ones already signed.
  • Processes for scanning and importing paper consents from elsewhere.
  • Consent Note type to support documentation where signatures are not required.
All enhancements are described, with step-by-step instructions, in an updated guide:
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2020-08-06

Important Change Coming to AHS Secure Email

Alberta Health Services (AHS) will finish updating its communications infrastructure to adopt the latest Microsoft Office 365 technology on August 17, 2020. The upgrade offers better security protections, both for email users and for AHS. However, the change will also impact how physicians access and use AHS secure email, particularly on personal devices (e.g., office computer, laptop, tablet, smartphone).

Please anticipate communications from Medical Affairs during the week of August 12, 2020. These will provide technical details and instructions about how to facilitate a smooth a changeover. We'll highlight key messages, as they become available, in this blog. 
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2020-07-28

Save the Date(s)... Clinical Inquiry Clinics

A big thanks to Connect Care clinicians who answered a recent Clinical Inquiry Survey by submitting diverse use cases where reporting, visualization and dashboard tools could serve clinical improvement.

Supplementing expanded Reporting Training opportunities, we start an ongoing series of Connect Care "Inquiry Clinics" this fall.

Weekly noon-hour sessions will be repeated to accommodate clinician schedules. Each session starts with a user need or use case. Current in-system tools will be used to address the inquiry need. Participants are then invited to apply learnings to their own practice or group. Physician Manual supplements and tip sheets support experiential learning.

Anyone interested in helping with the clinics, or submitting new cases, can get in touch with cmio@ahs.ca.
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2020-07-27

Time to Learn more about Connect Care Inquiry Supports

Connect Care is, at its core, about inquiry, investigation and improvement. We participate in inquiry when asking questions about what we do, perform investigation when using systematic approaches to answering questions, and promote improvement when iteratively applying answers to doing better.

The clinical information system (CIS) offers diverse tools for clinicians, quality advocates and researchers. These help understand how the CIS is used and how health processes and outcomes change for CIS stakeholders.

Now more than 6 months post launch, the data supporting Connect Care reports has improved in both quality and quantity. The time is right to learn about inquiry support tools; better yet, to tool-up for clinical improvement!

Weekly reporting training eLearning courses are available for the next many months. These offer a great way for clinicians and managers to learning about inquiry support and to gain proficiency using tools for improvement.
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2020-07-26

Connect Care Clinical Inquiry Newsletter - July 2020

The Connect Care Clinical Inquiry Newsletter offers a quick way to catch up on the latest progress with inquiry, research and analytics supports in the clinical information system.

Check out the July 2020 edition, emphasizing new functions for researchers and annual expert meeting developments.
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2020-07-25

Using Connect Care Inclusively

We've previously posted about how the Connect Care clinical information system (CIS) is designed to support inclusive and respectful care for all Albertans.

To support Connect Care users in providing culturally competent care and services, a new eLearning has been developed, Epic - GEN120 Documenting Gender, Sex, and Sexual Orientation, for all users (existing and new) who work with or talk about patients/clients. The eLearning is available for self-registration by users in MyLearningLink (MLL). This eLearning is is highly recommended for all users, expressing our commitment to diversity and inclusion.
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2020-07-16

Patient Movement Bootcamp - Lunch Hour Sessions for Connect Care Users

Patient Movement Bootcamp is a series of 4 lunchtime up-skilling sessions intended to review patient movement functionality and reinforce optimal workflows. The sessions are for current Connect Care users whose role involves admissions, transfers, discharges and surgical and critical care transitions. This includes physicians, nurses, unit clerks, bed planners, transporters, patient registration staff, quality management and others.

Dr. Alan Sobey, Physician Design Lead with the CMIO, contributes to the Interfacility Transfers session on Wednesday.

Session Details

Offered virtually (Skype for Business), as well as in person (with appropriate social distancing; limited seats available in Bernard Snell Hall). Participants are encouraged attend all sessions, as each new topic builds on the previous presentation.

Monday July 20 12:00-13:00 - Foundations and Workflow Review

  • Understanding and using ADT orders
  • Unit Manager – Advanced functionality and workflow review
  • Transfer patient to new unit. – workflow review
  • Accessing patient information and avoiding chart locking
  • Patient movement guide

Tuesday July 21 12:00-13:00  - All Things Transporters 

  • Requesting Transport
  • Understanding transporter events
  • Transport to and from the OR
  • Future queue and missed requests

Wednesday July 22 12:00-13:00 – Interfacility Transfers

  • Encounters review
  • Leave of Absence (LOA) – Review
  • Interfacility transfer vs. Leave Of Absence
  • Sending to Continuing Care
  • IFT for procedure and back (IFT with LOA)
  • Physician navigators and Medication Reconciliations

Thursday July 23 12:00-13:00 - Event Management and Troubleshooting 

  • Introduction to Event Management
  • Reading The encounter events report
  • Using Event Management to troubleshoot patient movement
  • Using Reporting tools to dig deeper into patient movement issues
To register, email kent.tetz@ahs.ca

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Referrals Evolution – Lunch Sessions

The Connect Care Patient Access team is offering 3 noon hour sessions about clinical referral workflows and how these are facilitated by clinical information system (CIS) tools. Although of interest to all practitioners, clinicians and support staff responsible for referral management (referral, triage, scheduling, fulfillment and follow-up) can benefit from tips about efficient and effective referral workflows.

To join one or more sessions, use the registration link(s) below (opens a calendar invitation).

July 21, 2020, 1200-1300 – Referrals Overview

  • New to referrals or simply want a review? This session will outline the steps in CIS-facilitated referral management.

July 22, 2020, 1200-1300 – Referrals Tips and Tricks

  • Pointers to using referral tools to best advantage.  

July 23, 2020; 1200-1300 – Referrals Q&A

  • Specific referral questions? Please sign-up and submit your question(s) in advance by email to Patient Access (see below).
More information:
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2020-07-13

Connect Care Post-Launch Survey – let your voice be heard

The second Connect Care post-launch survey for Wave 1 sites will be available July 13 to August 7. The survey takes no more than 10 minutes to complete (there are 17 questions, mostly asking you rate the degree to which you agree with a statement), and will ask you to measure how Connect Care has influenced your daily work and your ability to provide patient care. By completing the survey, you will help us to identify possible inefficiencies, work arounds, and key pain points for staff working in Connect Care. While we do ask you to identify a location where you work, this is so that leaders can address concerns that are specific to an area. Your individual responses are kept confidential.

Your responses are compiled, and the aggregate information is shared with site leadership, project sponsors, and others who support Connect Care implementation. The results of this survey will be compared with the results to the previous survey, making it possible to measure how Connect Care adoption and usage is evolving, and providing information to help guide ongoing support.

Your survey response is crucial for the Connect Care project team so we can support your best experience working in Connect Care, and so we can take what you have learned to future waves.

The survey will be live in Connect Care beginning July 13 and will be available until August 7.

You can also access the survey by clicking HERE.

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2020-07-02

AHS CMIO Portfolio Leadership

A big welcome to Dr. Stuart Rosser who assumes leadership of the Alberta Health Services (AHS) Chief Medical Information Officer (CMIO) portfolio this month!

From Dr. Francois Belanger, AHS Chief Medical Officer:

The CMIO plays a key part in the AHS senior leadership team. Reporting directly to the Vice President Quality & Chief Medical Officer of AHS and forming a triad with the Chief Information Officer (CIO), and the Senior Program Officer – Connect Care, the CMIO co-leads the development of a steady-state clinical IT and informatics strategy, as well as represent and communicate project and operational issues to clinical business leaders and clinicians within AHS, all while promoting clinical improvement and innovation. The CMIO directs and oversees engagement of physician communities in the five AHS zones, building awareness and opportunities for meaningful physician CIS adoption.

Dr. Rosser graduated from the University of Alberta, Faculty of Medicine in 1988 and then completed his Masters of Public Health through the Harvard School of Public Health in 1999. From 1999 – 2006, he undertook several leadership roles with University of Manitoba’s HIV Program and in its Divisions of Infectious Diseases and Critical Care. He returned to Edmonton in 2006, where he is currently an Associate Clinical Professor, Department of Medicine and Division of Infectious Diseases at the University of Alberta. He has an active clinical practice at the Royal Alexandra Hospital, where he was also Site Chief, Medicine, from 2014-2018.

Since 2017, Dr. Rosser has served as a Physician Design Lead with the Connect Care Project, bringing a wealth of experience and knowledge to this role. His familiarity with Connect Care design, build, and implementation will provide context and continuity for this transition period.


Rob Hayward returns to his clinical, teaching and innovation roles at the University of Alberta Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry, but with significant ongoing contributions to the Connect Care initiative as a Master Clinical Builder and as Medical Director Clinical System Design. He will also continue these blogging channels and support for the Connect Care Manual and eHealth Glossary.

CMIO general queries continue to be received at cmio@ahs.ca and messages about blogs and manuals to cmio-manual@ahs.ca
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2020-07-01

Getting the Supervising Provider Right

Trainees (medical students and residents) select a "Supervising Prescriber" (synonymous with "Authorizing Provider") when logging on to Connect Care, as previously posted. We've updated a previous FAQ about why this is important and what Connect Care activities are impacted. A tip and demo shows how Supervising Providers can be quickly changed, if needed, when switching between patients.

Note: selection of a Supervising Provider ceased to be part of trainee logons as of December 8, 2020. Please see the Manual for information about how this workflow is largely automated. The rest of this posting still applies.

We encounter situations where trainees do not select the correct Authorizing Provider when this needs to be explicitly indicated. Overriding the default Authorizing Provider is most likely needed when trainees are serving on consultation services or seeing emergency department patients on behalf of a consulting service. 

Most of the time this does not have much impact for inpatients. However, it determines who is called for critical test results and, understandably, physicians do not want to be called about patients they do not cover.

A simple test when entering orders, especially for tests, is consideration of which attending (staff) physician would need to be called for support in case of difficulty... for that patient at that time.

The authorizing physician is NOT the resident training program director, a more senior trainee, or some other physician not directly accountable for the clinical care that the trainee is providing at the time an order is entered.

There are many new trainees using Connect Care starting today. Please check the links above and take care when selecting a Supervising Prescriber at logon.
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