Alberta Health Services (AHS) has started the process of bringing (or “converting”) data from current health information systems into the Connect Care clinical information system (CIS). This will ensure that clinicians will have the information they need to serve patients and populations.
In early 2018, the Connect Care conversion team reached out to clinicians, leaders and technical experts across Alberta to get input about the amount and kind of information that needs to be available in Connect Care. This input helped inform scoping recommendations for data conversion. The Connect Care Executive Committee approved both data scoping principles and processes.
The CIS data conversion initiative applies data conversion principles to the extraordinarily complex task of assessing the quality of source system data and meta-data (data properties and relationships). This helps determine if health data can be safely imported and placed in a fully integrated CIS, where meta-data abounds with links to clinical context, purpose, decision and how the information is used in clinical, inquiry and instructional workflows. Additionally, data must be “normalized” to reference the same units, expected ranges and meta-data terminologies.
Where the risks associated with conversion are too great, Connect Care will default to health data captured directly to the CIS. Clinicians are supported through transitions with read-only access to legacy health information systems. Of course the Alberta Netcare Portal (EHR) eases continued access to older information, helping clinicians review historical health data when adding richly connected new information to the Connect Care health record.