2023-11-30

Obtaining CPD Credit for Connect Care Training

Connect Care physician training is currently eligible for Continuous Professional Development (CPD) credit with the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada, for self-directed and group learning activities. Credits through the College of Family Physicians of Canada have been offered in the past, however, they are currently unavailable. The CMIO is in the process of reviewing eligibility with the College of Family Physicians of Canada. When there is an update, we will post it here.

More information about available credit types and weights, together with procedures for claiming credits, is provided in a tip sheet, included in the Connect Care Manual:

2023-11-24

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:

2023-11-23

CMIO Prescriber Drop-in Centres - Updated Hours

With the third full week of Connect Care at the Launch 7 sites coming to a close, the Site Drop-in Centres will close after 18:00 today, November 23. The Virtual Drop-in Centre (virtualhelp.connect-care.ca) continues to be open one more week, until December 1, with slightly reduced hours as of this weekend.  

  • Virtual Drop-in Centre
    • November 23–24: Daily support 08:00–20:00
    • November 25–December 1: Daily support 10:00–18:00
  • Site Drop-in Centres (NLRHC, CRH, MHRH)
    • November 23: Open 10:00–18:00
    • After November 23: CLOSED
If you require support outside these hours, please call the IT Service Desk & Solution Centre at 1-877-311-4300 (#1 for Connect Care) or visit help.connect-care.ca. The Service Desk is able to provide high-level workflow and training support; urgent issues will be escalated to an on-call CMIO training team member.

For further information about prescriber launch supports, visit launchhelp.connect-care.ca

2023-11-17

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:

2023-11-14

All User Bulletin - PowerMic 4 Issues

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

PowerMic 4 Not Compatible on Thin Clients

Dragon Medical One (DMO) requires a microphone to function. Connect Care provides the PowerMic Mobile (PMM) application as the default microphone solution for prescribers, but some may prefer to use wired/USB microphones. USB microphones are not a standard offering at AHS, and microphone peripherals are the responsibility of the user to purchase as bring your own device (BYOD).

Prescribers across the zones have reported issues with using their PowerMic 4 with an AHS device. While the PowerMic 4 may work on personal devices and some AHS full clients, PowerMic 4 is not currently fully supported on all AHS devices. In particular, they are not supported on AHS thin clients, which are the more common type of workstation in the North Zone. 

The AHS technology teams are currently in the process of testing PowerMic 4. In the meantime, prescribers are encouraged to use other tools such as the PMM app, or a device that is certified as being compatible with all AHS devices, such as PowerMic 3; see the 1-pager for a list of all compatible devices. 

2023-11-10

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:

Tickets, Tickets, Tickets!

Connect Care Launch 7 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 7 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:

  • Not ignore problems, even those that seem minor. Report by one means or another (if too busy to submit a helpdesk ticket, jot down the particulars in a secure message or In Basket note to a Super User).
    • Reported problems get "ticketed", which means that they are tracked and resolved as fast as possible. 
  • When reporting printer problems, always include any relevant order number.
For more information:

2023-11-09

Issues with eScription

Some users have reported issues using the provincial eScription services. The in-system dictation system, Dragon Medical One, is strongly recommended for optimal user experience, and the eScription service will be decommissioned in the near future. 

If a clinician has to use eScription and experiences issues, refer to the Insite page for help, or contact IT Solution Center at 1-877-311-4300.

Just-in-Time Learning!

Our new Connect Care Launch 7 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. 

2023-11-08

Improving Issue Reports and Help Desk Interactions

Problem reports (help.connect-care.ca "tickets") have been well within expectations so far with Connect Care Launch 7. 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:

2023-11-05

Launch 7: We are GO!

All Connect Care systems activated on time at 05:00! 

Today, Connect Care welcomes 79 sites from across the province into the family; with this launch, all acute care AHS sites are now on Connect Care! 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 7 prescribers.

2023-11-04

Countdown Checklist L7: Drop In

Continuing a list of essential actions for Connect Care Launch 7 prescribers readying for launch November 5, 2023...
  • Drop In
This ends our countdown checklist, with conversion of old to new charts well underway today and tomorrow. We hope all goes well Sunday at 05:00 when the new charts become the official record of care!

Of course that's only the start. We'll have a working system but we'll need to grow it, and grow with it, to fulfill its potential.
Informatics specialists, Super Users and physician informatics leads are eager to help. Reach out.

Countdown Checklist L7, T-minus 0: Share and Learn

Continuing a list of essential actions for Connect Care Launch 7 prescribers readying for launch November 5, 2023...
  • Share and Learn
We are down to the final few hours. Any preparations that could be, have been. Now we must turn to one another in a spirit of collaboration.

Super Users are widely distributed. Look for yellow and orange lanyards (prescriber supports; pink caps in the OR). Don't struggle. Ask for help.
Super Users use social media to rapidly share learnings so they can be widely applied... ask them for help. They can also way-find when they are unable to provide immediate help themselves.

2023-11-03

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 L7, T-minus 1: You've Got This!

Continuing a list of essential actions for Connect Care Launch 7 prescribers readying for launch November 5, 2023...
  • You've Got This -- And We've Got Your Back
Physicians, nurse practitioners and other prescribers have dedicated time and energy to preparing for Connect Care Launch 7. You've got this! 
  • There are approximately 1,300 CMIO end users across the North and South Zones who are part of Launch 7: physicians, nurse practitioners, clinical assistants, physician assistants, dentists, residents, medical learners, and nurse practitioner students.
  • 137 CMIO Super Users are deployed across the North and South Zones, for at-the-elbow support totalling over 5,433 hours of scheduled availability. 
  • 1,696 hours of on-site drop-in support and 1,294 hours of virtual drop-in support are scheduled for prescribers during the pre- and post-launch period.
Watch for Connect Care posters in Launch 7 sites, prescriber updates, and the launch support pages in the Manual.

2023-11-02

Countdown Checklist L7, T-minus 2: Catch Up Dictations

Continuing a list of essential actions for Connect Care Launch 7 prescribers readying for launch November 5, 2023...
  • Dictate any pre-launch admission or transfer notes
Launch 7 inpatient facilities are supported for dictation of admission histories, transfer notes, consultation reports and discharge summaries. This is done through the provincial eScription service, with products appearing in the Netcare electronic health record. These dictations will also be available to refer to in Connect Care when it launches.

Succinct initial progress notes become possible in Connect Care if they can refer to an existing digital admission or transfer record and simply note any changes since. The same applies for Consults performed in the coming week for patients expected to still be in-hospital post-launch.
  • Take advantage of eScription to facilitate easier Connect Care cutover this weekend!

2023-11-01

Countdown Checklist L7, T-minus 3: Buddy Up, Team Up

Continuing a list of essential actions for Connect Care Launch 7 prescribers readying for launch November 5, 2023...
  • Buddy-Up and Team-Up
Every clinical group will have members who like, and others who dislike, information management. This is a good time to recognize this reality and identify buddies for providers who may struggle.

There are valuable human resources embedded in Launch 7 sites and others flowing in from Zone sites already on Connect Care. Pre-socialize your Super Users, Medical Informatics Leads, Area Trainers and other specialty, ward or clinic informaticians. Create and share a launch contact list that fits your local group needs. Prescriber launch supports (launchhelp.connect-care.ca) link to a Super User schedule - good contacts to start with.

This is also a good time to consider how clinical information system adoption work can be divided and shared. Some personalization tasks, for example, can dramatically improve the user experience but take time to set up. Many can be initiated by a team member who understands the preferences of colleagues then shared for adoption by a larger group. Examples of allocatable personalization tasks are listed in the Connect Care Manual.

Consider devoting group, division, or other business meetings to identifying, and sharing, remaining team readiness tasks.