2026-04-30

Between the Charts: CMIO Newsletter for Prescribers - Issue 27 Now Available

Our monthly newsletter for prescribers, Between the Charts, summarizes key news items, Epic system updates, efficiency tips and extras that will help prescribers optimize their Connect Care user experience, all in two pages. The next issue is now out, available at the below link! This issue includes information on:

  • Spring Upgrade, transparent lockdown, and downtime (May 14)
  • Coming soon: BPMH optimizations and ED Downtime Track Board (May 14)
  • PIN and IMM/ARI viewers in Connect Care
  • Update to admission/transfer Hospital Service listings
  • New antibiotics order panel for admitted patients on hemodialysis
  • New telemetry and isolation status Patient List columns
  • STAT collection vs. STAT testing
  • Encounter department for outgoing referrals
  • Upskilling via Epic's SmartUser program
  • Adding acronyms to custom DMO vocabulary
  • Connecting personal devices to AHSRestrict 
  • May Optimization (a.k.a. Thrive) classes
  • And more!

The previous issues can still be accessed, via the archive in the Connect Care Manual. 

If you have any feedback on this issue or have a suggestion for content you'd like included in a future issue, please send us an email. 

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Improving Patient Flow: Tracking and Updating Telemetry and Isolation Status

Connect Care provides tools to help prescribers facilitate efficient patient journeys through acute care facilities. This can start in emergency rooms where patients' admission needs are determined by considerations like cardiac monitoring and isolation for communicable disease risks. 

Two new patient list columns can help emergency room consultants and admitting services match incoming patients with available inpatient resources. 

  • Telemetry Status (column ID = 304348154)
    • Display: Icon shows if patient has an active order for telemetry (cardiac monitoring).
    • Hover: Pop-up information about monitoring order and link to action telemetry.
    • Double-click: Open chart to orders activity.
  • Isolation Status (column ID = 3043460401)
    • Display: Icon shows if patient has an active isolation order. 
    • Hover: Current isolation status and link to open a discontinue isolation order. 
    • Double-click: Open pop-up window with more information about isolation status, results of respiratory infection screening, and link to isolation order.

Either column can be added to any patient list. Both are part of the "++AHS ED MD CONSULTS++ provincial Patient List Template, which can be applied to personal lists to automatically set up the above columns in addition to other columns useful for admission planning in Emergency contexts. 

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2026-04-24

On Other Channels...

Below is a digest of new blog posts across all the Connect Care clinician blog channels in the last week. For more info on the blogs, click here. 

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2026-04-17

On Other Channels...

Below is a digest of new blog posts across all the Connect Care clinician blog channels in the last week. For more info on the blogs, click here. 

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2026-04-15

Improving Patient Flow: Recognizing Repatriation Opportunities

Connect Care provides tools to help prescribers expedite safe discharges for inpatients. Use of these tools can improve patient flow, reduce bed overcapacity pressures, and ease emergency department congestion.

A recent enhancement to expected discharge disposition tools can help clinicians recognize (and act on) situations where patients may be suitable for return to a sending facility. 

The Expected Discharge Disposition patient list column now provides a visual indication (grey return icon) of whether a patient is from, and may return to, an out-of-zone facility or whether a repatriation process is already initiated (green return arrow). The column hover bubble also includes direct links for initiating a repatriation order and/or an inter-facility discharge order.

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2026-04-13

Improving Patient Flow: Discharge Planning Tools for Prescribers

Connect Care provides tools to help prescribers expedite safe discharge for inpatients. Use of these tools can improve patient flow, reduce bed overcapacity pressures, and ease emergency department congestion.

A set of 4 Patient List columns offer a great starting point for finding, tracking, and updating key discharge planning information:

A 2-page Quick Start guide highlights simple steps to improving daily prescriber discharge planning:

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2026-04-10

On Other Channels...

Below is a digest of new blog posts across all the Connect Care clinician blog channels in the last 2 weeks. For more info on the blogs, click here. 

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2026-04-08

For Awareness: Connecting Personal Devices to AHSRestrict

Beginning April 8, 2026, the way non-prescriber staff connect their personal devices to corporate WiFi will change. Staff can currently access AHSRestrict and Healthspot using their work credentials. After this transition, non-prescribers' personal devices can only use Healthspot. This change will significantly enhance the security of the network and critical systems, and will roll out in small batches across the province with an expected completion date of July 2026.

Prescribers should not see an impact of this change and can continue to login and access WiFi as before, as both corporate-owned and prescribers' BYOD and personal devices will continue to have access to AHSRestrict. However, if any prescribers notice difficulty connecting to AHSRestrict, they should contact the IT Service Desk (1-877-311-4300) for assistance.

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2026-04-06

Discharge Planning Tool Enhancements for Prescribers

Building upon Fall 2025 enhancements (see previous post) further improvements to discharge planning tools are introduced this month. These are most relevant to prescribers, focusing on ease of access, editing, and tracking of inpatients':

Patient list columns now include improved hover-bubble displays and double-click editing. Key prescriber accountabilities can be fulfilled using the columns, without needing to open patient charts. Help links are embedded and a new "target" icon link opens relevant personal and group feedback dashboards.

Future postings will dig deeper into discharge planning tools most important for, and useful to, prescribers.

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