Enhancement updates provide short alerts to new, fixed or improved Connect Care functions...
  • Improvements to Consent Forms Management 
Some recent Connect Care updates address user requests for improvements to patient consent workflows: 
  • Document Status
    When completing an eForm within the Consent Navigator, the document’s completion status can now be updated manually. 
  • Capacity Status
    Updates have been made to the Capacity Status section within the Consent Navigator and Advanced Care Planning / Goals of Care Designation Navigator. 
  • Relationships & Alternate Decision Makers
    Revisions have been made to the Relationship options and Alternate Decision Maker options in the Patient Contact card.

  • MHA Questions

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Second Sign for Clerical/MOA Ambulatory Orders

Enhancement updates provide short alerts to new, fixed or improved Connect Care functions...
  • Second Sign for Clerical/MOA Ambulatory Orders 
As of April 28, 2022, orders placed in ambulatory settings by AHS clerical staff and non-AHS Medical Office Assistants (MOAs) for medications, procedures, laboratory testing, diagnostic imaging, and cardiology and surgical procedures (with some exceptions listed below) must be "Second Signed". 

With Second Sign, orders are not visible and cannot be carried out until the second signature is obtained electronically from a responsible prescriber. Once the second signature is applied, the affected orders can be acted upon.

Why is this change being made?
  • This change was reviewed by eSafety, AHS Legal, CCEC and Zone Medical Leadership, and was determined to be required for patient safety when delegating order entry to unit clerks/MOAs.
  • Compared to verbal orders needing co-sign, second sign ensures that orders entered by the ambulatory unit clerk or MOA are reviewed, approved and signed by the authorized prescriber prior to being visible in the patient chart and actionable by other healthcare providers.
  • It assists with prescriber and patient care workflow efficiency by allowing clerical staff and non-AHS MOAs, within their scope of practice, to enter certain order types on behalf of the prescriber.
  • Use of the second sign order entry workflow allows the order entry process to be transparent and auditable via reporting tools in the reporting workbench.
What else you need to know 
  • When booking urgent cases, prescribers should enter orders themselves.
  • Approved exceptions to second sign are as follows:
    • Paper orders with a wet signature can be transcribed by unit clerks and MOA’s into Connect Care, provided all order components align from paper to Connect Care format. 
    • PLEASE NOTE:  Providers with Connect Care (CC) access are expected to place orders within CC and orders submitted on paper by these providers will be returned.
    • Orders to schedule a procedure may be entered by an ambulatory unit clerk or MOA as an active order, so that scheduling/booking can proceed without need for second sign.
  • Second Sign orders can be found in the authorizing prescriber’s "Second Sign Needed" In Basket folder, which can be "favourited" to ensure visibility.
  • Order printing:
    • Orders with requisitions will not print until the second sign has been completed by the prescriber.  Upon second sign, requisitions will print to the location that the current workstation is mapped to; alternatively, prescribers can use Virtual Local Printing (VLP) to choose another destination for the order to print. Information around virtual local printing can be found in the Connect Care Manual.  
    • MOAs can use Reprint from Chart Review if additional copies of requisitions are needed.
For more information:

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Navigator Update - Discharge as Deceased

Enhancement updates provide short alerts to new, fixed or improved Connect Care functions...
  • Navigator Update: Discharge as Deceased
As of April 21, 2022, there are changes to the "Discharge as Deceased" navigator within the "Discharge" activity available to patient charts opened to an inpatient encounter.

The navigator has been streamlined. Some low-value materials have been removed, including the prior "death" and "organ procurement" notes, which were not used consistently. New point-and-click sections allow things like Medical Examiner's review criteria to be quickly documented.

The navigator update is paired with improvements to discharge summary templates for inpatient encounters where patients die in-facility.

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Documentation Update - Deceased Note Type Retired

Enhancement updates provide short alerts to new, fixed or improved Connect Care functions...
  • Deceased Note Type Retired
As of April 21, 2022, the "Deceased" note type will no longer be available when generating new notes in Connect Care charts opened to an inpatient encounter. These note types were being used inconsistently (e.g., as a record of bedside death pronouncement), often with inappropriate information going to Netcare.

Inpatient encounters end when patients die in-facility and the appropriate summative documentation is a "Discharge Summary" note type. This note type supports templates for conventional discharges, as well as "Deceased" and "Inter-facility Transfer" templates. A "Deceased" template within a Discharge Summary note type should always be used to to document encounters that include patient death.

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Quick-click Update for Ambulatory Encounters

Enhancement updates provide short alerts to new, fixed or improved Connect Care functions...
  • 'Quick-Click' Update for Ambulatory Encounters 
As of April 21, 2022, new functionality has been enabled for outpatient encounters to make it easier to rapidly route notes to the patient's primary care provider (PCP) and referring provider. The Quick Click communication function does not work for hospital outpatient department encounters (HODs; e.g., Rehabilitation Medicine).
  • Clinical observations (consultation or updates) can be documented in the progress note associated with an outpatient encounter. When prescribers use this note to record all pertinent clinical observations, assessments and plans, the progress note can then be incorporated into a standardized "letter" that goes out (e.g., to PCP, referring provider, copied provider) via the "communications" part of an outpatient navigator. A new shortcut allows this workflow to be automated.

  • To send an outpatient progress note to the patient's PCP and referring provider, click the "Send to PCP & referring" checkbox appearing at the top-right of the note editor.
    • The PCP and referring provider fields must be populated in the patient's chart for this checkbox to appear. If one of these fields are not filled in, the checkbox will be named "Send to PCP" or "Send to referring". If neither field is populated, "Send notes" will appear.


    • The outpatient communication letter will be routed using the receiving providers' default communication method.

  • Note that this workflow also sends the communication to Netcare (and, latter this year, to community EMRs that have updated to receive such letters via eDelivery) and should be used only when this is appropriate.

  • To edit the communication before it is sent, including adding additional recipients (e.g., copying yourself), click the "Communications" link to the right of the checkbox or use the communications section of the "wrap up" navigator.
    • If there is no PCP or referring provider indicated in the chart, they can be added in the communications tool.
In addition to the new functionality, the content of the relevant letter templates (AHS TO REFPROV + NETCARE CONSULT, PRESCRIBER PROGRESS NOTES [Consult/Netcare Notes] and AHS TO REFPROV + NETCARE PROCEDURE, PRESCRIBER PROCEDURE NOTES [Proc/Netcare Notes]) has been simplified:
  • Modified content: "Please find below select notes from the Connect Care medical record for @FNAME@ @LNAME@."
  • Previous content: "Thank you for referring @FNAME@ @LNAME@ to me for evaluation. Below are my notes for this consultations. If you have questions, please do not hesitate to call me."
For more information:

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Mental Health Act Flag Order - Update

Enhancement updates provide short alerts to new, fixed or improved Connect Care functions...
  • Improvement to Mental Health Act Order 
The Mental Health Act (MHA) order, Flag Patient as Certified (Mental Health Act), is used as a communication tool, to display an alert in the patient's Storyboard based on the information in the order. As of April 21, 2022, new required questions will be seen when the prescriber places this order: 
  • In the "Certificate" section of the order window, which MHA Form the patient is being certified on must be chosen.
  • Based on the Form selected, required cascading questions will appear where date and time of issuance or triage date and time must be specified (backdating is possible). This time will then be visible in the Storyboard.

Relevant to this update is the recent Bill 17 (Mental Health Amendment Act), which has expanded the scope of practice for nurse practitioners (NPs), enabling the ability to issue admission certificates, renewal certificates and community treatment orders. NPs should be familiar with their legislated scope of practice and which MHA Forms they are able to complete. For more support, please refer to Bill 17 Summary of Changes or contact advancedpracticenursing@ahs.ca.

MHA eForms will continue to be developed when the Connect Care Teams have capacity to work on continuous improvement items; in the meantime, MHA Forms must be manually completed and scanned into Connect Care.

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Urine Culture Orders - Clinical Indication Required

Enhancement updates provide short alerts to new, fixed or improved Connect Care functions...
  • Clinical Indication Needed for Urine Culture Orders 
(Edit: Change date has been moved from April 11 to April 8.) As of April 8, 2022, entry of a clinical indication when placing a urine culture order is required. Requiring provision of an indication is part of a provincial effort to reduce unnecessary urine culture ordering and treatment of asymptomatic bacteriuria.

To complete a urine culture order, the ordering provider must select the appropriate indication within the "Indications" section. If none of the options are relevant, select "Other" and enter the reason in the "Other Indications details" free-text field.


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Removal of Ambulatory Clinical Letters

Enhancement updates provide short alerts to new, fixed or improved Connect Care functions...
  • Removal of Two Ambulatory Clinical Letters 
As of March 29, 2022, the following two ambulatory clinical letters will be removed from Connect Care, to ensure the correct referral workflow is being used for generating a referral in an ambulatory context to a specialty:
  • AHS AMB PRIMARY CARE RFL SIMPLE
  • AHS AMB PRIMARY CARE RFL DETAILED
Referrals from Connect Care providers should not be managed with letters in the communications activity. Instead, all outgoing referrals should be managed in Connect Care using referral orders. Doing so ensures that the referral becomes part of the patient's chart and is properly managed by the receiving department. A referral order facilitates Closed Loop Referral Management communications for both referring providers and patients. This applies for both internal referrals to services where Connect Care is the record of care, and external referrals to services using a different information system.

 For more information:

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RAAPID Intake Encounter Charge Filing

Enhancement updates provide short alerts to new, fixed or improved Connect Care functions...
  • RAAPID Intake Encounter Charge Filing
Charges dropped in Intake encounters (used in the RAAPID workflow) will now file automatically upon acceptance by the clinician, with no change to the RAAPID workflow. 

When these charges are accepted, clinicians will immediately see the status change to "Filed". Any charges entered in error can still be removed after filing.
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Clinical Terminology Update: Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity and Expression (SOGIE)

Enhancement updates provide short alerts to new, fixed or improved Connect Care functions...
  • SOGIE Problem List & Diagnosis Terminology
As of February 10, 2022, outdated clinical terminology related to sexual orientation, gender, identity and expression (SOGIE) in Connect Care is modified or replaced in pick-lists. Prescribers will find that these changes better align with the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders-5 (DSM-5).  

Where do the enhancements apply?

Standardized medical terminology is used when entering health conditions in problem lists, identifying the "chief complaint" associated with an encounter and selecting admission, visit or discharge diagnoses. 

What terms have changed?

The following terms have changed. When searching for appropriate terms for problems or diagnoses, older terms will be recognized as synonyms for new terms which will be presented for selection (e.g., prescribers will be able to search for “Transsexualism” or “Gender identity disorder” and be led to “Gender dysphoria”).
  • Sex, gender and orientation identifiers:
    • “Anorgasmia of male” and “Anorgasmia of female” has been replaced by “Anorgasmia”
    • “Male erectile disorder” has been replaced by “Erectile disorder”
    • “Female orgasmic disorder” has been replaced by “Orgasmic disorder”
  • “Gender dysphoria” has replaced the following terms: 
    • “Gender identity disorder”
    • “Transsexualism”
  • The term “reassignment” has been replaced by “confirmation:”
    • “Trans-sexualism, status post gender reassignment surgery” has been removed; users are encouraged to use “Gender dysphoria, status post gender reassignment surgery”

What happens to prior terminology selections?

The changes are not retroactive and so old problem lists and diagnoses will remain as originally entered. However, when problem lists are reviewed and updated (problem list reconciliation), prescribers are provided with an opportunity to substitute equivalent current terms.

More information
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Installing Mobility on Apple Devices

Problem: Due to some updates to the Intelligent Hub app, some users may have experienced trouble installing or reinstalling Connect Care Mobility apps on their Apple device.

Solution: Process instructions have been updated in the Connect Care Manual and tip sheet.
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Patient-Entered Flowsheet - POC Blood Glucose

Enhancement updates provide short alerts to new, fixed or improved Connect Care functions...
  • Patient-Reported POC Blood Glucose
The MyAHS Connect (MAC) patient portal includes tools that clinicians can use to improve chronic disease management, functional status assessment and health maintenance. Some involve direct patient data capture (e.g., answers to questionnaires or entries to flowsheets) while others involve indirect data capture via interfaces to patients' medical devices (e.g., glucometers). A few questionnaires and flowsheets are provided to patients by default, while others are explicitly "ordered" for activation within a particular patient's MAC experience.

As of January 20, 2022, a patient-entered flowsheet will be available for patients to self-report their point-of-care (POC) blood glucose levels via their MAC account. To activate this flowsheet, (1) the patient must have an active MAC account and (2) prescribers must place an order for the flowsheet.
  • Use "flowsheet" as a search term within the order search tool, in the "Facility List" or "Database" tab.
  • Select "MYCHART GLUCOSE FLOWSHEET", click the "Accept" button, and sign the order.
  • The patient will receive a message in their MAC account about the newly available flowsheet.
Patient-entered clinical data can appear in a few places in the Connect Care chart, including the "Glucose Management" inpatient activity, "MYCHART" glucose flowsheets in the "Flowsheets" activity and in the "Episodes of Care" activity. For more information, see the tip sheet.
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Referral Routing SmartPhrase

Enhancement updates provide short alerts to new, fixed or improved Connect Care functions...
  • Referral Routing SmartPhrase
All referrals and consultations must be ordered within Connect Care where Connect Care is the record of care. Using the correct workflow ensures that consults and referrals are identified, tracked and completed in a timely manner. Clinicians who receive consult requests from other Connect Care clinicians through informal channels should remind the requesting provider that the desired consult or referral must be entered in Connect Care. 

A simple SmartPhrase can be used to generate reminders for colleagues when responding to In Basket requests that do not use the recommended referral order workflow:
  • Use ".REFERRALROUTING" or ".REFROUTE" in the body of the In Basket response message.
The new SmartPhrase will pull in text instructions for the appropriate referral order workflow.
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After Visit Summary Enhancement - Video Viewing Instructions

Enhancement updates provide short alerts to new, fixed or improved Connect Care functions...
  • Adding Video Viewing Instructions to an AVS
As of January 20, 2022, prescribers can incorporate patient education video viewing instructions within patients' After Visit Summaries (AVS). Previously, only text instructions could be included. This enhancement gives prescribers the ability to leverage a broader range of health education supports for patients as part of their AVS.

Similar to the workflow for finding text handouts, there are three ways (tabs) to discover and select video viewing instructions. All use the "Go to Clinical References" link in the Patient Instructions section found in "Wrap-Up" (ambulatory encounters), "Discharge Navigator" (inpatient encounters) or "Disposition" activities (emergency encounters) in an opened patient chart.
  • Relevant Documents
    Selectable video viewing instructions, automatically offered based on the patient's problem list or diagnosis, can be selected before clicking "Add to Patient Instructions".
  • Additional Search
    Both patient and video viewing instructions can be sought (look for "Video" at the end of the titles in search results) and optionally selected by clicking "Add to Patient Instructions".
  • Master Index
    Search alphabetically or by category, or click on the "Videos" link under "Content Types" to see all available video viewing instructions.
After selecting one or more text or video patient education resources, clinicians can optionally add further comment that will appear when the AVS is printed. Frequently used comments can be saved as a SmartPhrase.
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PICC Insertion Order

Problem: Some clinicians may see their peripherally inserted central catheter (PICC) line insertion orders cancelled or changed, possibly delaying the requested intervention.

Context: PICC line insertions are often performed by Diagnostic Imaging (DI) in Alberta Health Services facilities as an interventional radiology (IR) procedure. However, there are also circumstances (e.g., some critical care settings) where IR does not do the procedure. Two orders are available to prescribers: one for IR-facilitated insertions and one for other insertions. It is important to select the right order when DI is asked to place the PICC.

Solution: To avoid delay in DI receiving and processing the intervention request, search for "Insert PICC" when ordering, look to the "Procedures" grouping of search results, and choose "IR PICC Line Insertion" for procedures to be facilitated by DI.

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Accessing Legacy Records

Enhancement updates provide short alerts to new, fixed or improved Connect Care functions...
  • Accessing Legacy Records 
As of January 1, 2022, legacy medical record content for inpatients that was scanned into Connect Care during cutover can be accessed more easily.

Previously, access to scanned legacy materials required use of a special "ECT-Pt" button. 
Now, these records can be accessed within Chart Review using the familiar "Media" tab: 
  • The "Document Type" column will indicate "Clinical Document".
  • The "Description" column will indicate "Patient Cutover Record".
Legacy records captured during future launches will also be accessed this way when available.
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Workstations on Wheels (WOWs) Issues

Problem: Some users have been experiencing issues logging in to some Workstations on Wheels (WOWs).

Solution: If there is an issue with logging in to a WOW, please restart the computer. If the issue does not resolve after restarting, call the IT Service Desk & Solution Centre (1-877-311-4300). 

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In Basket - Attachments for Patient Messages

Enhancement updates provide short alerts to new, fixed or improved Connect Care functions...
  • Adding Attachments to In Basket Patient Messages 
As of November 4, 2021, attaching documents to a patient message in In Basket has been simplified. 

To attach a document to an In Basket patient message, initiate a patient message from its menu item (available only for patients with an activated MyAHS Connect patient portal service), then in the "Patient Message" screen:
  1. Select the "+Add" button in the "Attachment" row of the "Tasks & Attachments" section.
  2. From the "Media Selector" window that opens, select the desired document to be attached:
    • Attaching a Connect Care document: In the "Detailed View" tab, the "All Media" list shows all media available in Connect Care for that patient (including scanned/imported files), with document types and descriptions. Select the desired document and click the "Accept" button.
    • Attaching a document from your device: Click the "Browse" tab (to the right of "Detailed View"). In the "Open" window that pops up, click "This PC", select the desired document, and click the "Open" button. Add a description in the "Description" field (note: the patient will see this description). 
      • The document type will automatically fill in as "Provider Attachment".
For more information:

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WCB and Connect Care - Updates

Enhancement updates provide short alerts to new, fixed or improved Connect Care functions...
  • WCB Form Submission and New Reports
As of October 19, 2021, a Workers' Compensation Board (WCB) form can be completed within Connect Care and submitted to WCB directly from Connect Care. 

The new WCB SmartForm replaces an existing WCB SmartLink available in the "Wrap-Up" tab for ambulatory charts (last section), and can be found in the "Dispo" tab for emergency charts. The "WCB Form" can be completed in steps, with a final validation step confirming presence of all required information as well as the type of submission (direct or via third party). 

Current and previously completed WCB forms, related to any ambulatory or emergency visit, can be viewed in Chart Review under the "Encounters" tab, and easily found by filtering for “WCB Visits”.

There are also two new WCB reports found in "Print Documents", as well as a third-party billing report in the reporting workbench.

For more information, new tip sheets are provided for ambulatory and emergency department contexts.

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How To Respond to a Connect Care Login Password Warning

Problem: Connect Care users may receive a message at login about a need to change their password, but may not know how to take action.


Context: Connect Care is accessed with the same username and password required for other Alberta Health Services (AHS) information resources, including wireless networks, intranet resources and clinical systems. These "Healthy" network credentials have security protections, including a requirement for periodic password changes. Many Connect Care users will come up for a password change in the coming months and may not remember where or how to change AHS passwords.

Solution: AHS Healthy network credentials can be managed, with an easy tool for password updates, through the Integrated Access Management (IAM) website, as explained in the Connect Care Manual:
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Charting Deficiencies Fix - Death Notes

Enhancement updates provide short alerts to new, fixed or improved Connect Care functions...
  • Correction to Charting Deficiency Checks
As of October 7, 2021, Connect Care charting deficiency checks are corrected to better reflect documentation requirements in the event of an inpatient death.

Previously, an in-facility death ending an inpatient encounter triggered a check for the presence of a signed discharge summary. However, Connect Care documentation norms indicate that a "discharge summary" type, with a deceased note template, should be used in such circumstances. Now the presence of either document type will satisfy charting completion requirements and the deficiency check algorithms have been corrected accordingly.

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New Mobility Feature - Monitor Activity

Enhancement updates provide short alerts to new, fixed or improved Connect Care functions...
  • Connect Care Mobility "Monitor" Activity
As of October 6, 2021, Connect Care mobility apps (Haiku for smartphones and Canto for iPads) gain a new activity (view) for use within opened patient charts.

The "Monitor" activity is well suited to inpatient, emergency and critical care contexts, where a clean, simple, aggregated view of key information supports a quick gestalt of clinical trending. There are sections for vitals, input/output, respiratory status, lines/drips, etc.


Look to the activity/view icons at the bottom of a mobility display within an opened patient chart. The Monitor activity can be set as a default view (first to be shown upon opening a chart) at the user's discretion (use the Haiku or Canto "Initial Patient Activity" configuration in device settings).

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Home Medications History

Enhancement updates provide short alerts to new, fixed or improved Connect Care functions...
  • Home Medication List Changes
As of October 5, 2021, nursing will have access to complete a patient's Best Possible Medication History (BPMH) within a Connect Care chart, including the ability to remove (discontinue) outpatient or "home" medications that the patient is no longer taking. Previously, only prescribers had the ability to remove medications, and any changes made by nursing were not retained unless reviewed by a prescriber in the same encounter. It is expected that this access will also be extended to pharmacy technicians in the near future. Note that both nursing and prescribers will continue to have the option of flagging medication history for prescriber review.

Along with this access change, the "Medication Documentation Review Audit" report has been expanded, to pull in information from the previous five medication reviews. By reviewing this report, prescribers can see what home medication changes were made, e.g., by nursing in Pre-Admission Clinic (PAC) clinics or by pharmacy technicians. 

To access the history report, in the "Review Home Medications" section of Admission Documentation, click the "History" link beside the "Mark as Reviewed" button.
 

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New Public Health Act Order and Flag

Enhancement updates provide short alerts to new, fixed or improved Connect Care functions...
  • New Inpatient Order - Public Health Act Certification
A prior posting drew attention to a Manual section explaining how enforced assessments are managed in Connect Care, including how certification is indicated through placement of an order that places an appropriate flag on the patient chart.

A recent order enhancement makes it easy to access and act upon all requirements relating to enforced detention, assessment, isolation or treatment under provisions of the Public Health Act (PHA). 
  1. Within a patient chart opened to an inpatient encounter, open the Orders activity and use "certified" to look up the "Flag Patient as Certified (Public Health Act)" order.
  2. Select the order to edit its properties, noting that instructions are provided about requirements that must be met to activate the provisions of the PHA.
  3. The order contains links to the required forms, which can be completed electronically, printed and scanned to the chart using Media Manager. (Note that the Section 39 and 44 and Notification of Patient Rights Forms must be printed off and given to the patient and those who need a copy of it. Please refer to the Process document hyperlink for specific details.)
  4. Action links in the order enable the generation of required notification letters, which can be composed and sent from within Connect Care.
  5. Signing the order will place a flag on the patient's Storyboard, a visual indicator that a patient is certified.
  6. Discontinuing the order (found in the "Precautions" section of the active orders list) will remove the certification flag. Modifying the order will provide access to useful links, including ones for generating letters to be used when discontinuing the certification order.
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Choosing the Correct Blood Gas POCT Order

Problem: When ordering point of care test (POCT) blood gases, prescribers may be confused by the available options (arterial, venous, capillary) being listed with a "Type" of "Nursing". Although these test requests are sometimes fulfilled by nurses, they are often handled by other clinicians such as registered respiratory therapists (RRTs). Some prescribers have been selecting inappropriate Blood Gas POCT orders. 

Context: The below screenshot includes orders primarily handled by respiratory services. Though all orders are listed as a "Nursing" type order, and though they may be drawn by nursing or other disciplines, they are still managed by respiratory services. Therefore, for example, "Blood Gas Arterial POCT, Type - Nursing" is the correct order for an Arterial Blood Gas to be drawn and run by an RRT.


Solution: The "Type" classification cannot be changed to display the expected "Respiratory" or "Respiratory/Nursing", for a variety of reasons. However, once the correct Blood Gas POCT order is found, it can be saved as a favourite.
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Android 11 OS Users - Unable to Connect to AHSRestrict Wireless Network

Problem: Prescribers using a smartphone with the Android 11 operating system (OS) may be unable to connect to the "AHSRestrict" wireless network in AHS facilities. 

Context: The AHSRestrict wireless network allows mobile (e.g., smartphones, tablets) and portable (e.g., laptops) computing devices to connect to the AHS intranet. The "HealthSpot" wireless network is also available in AHS facilities, providing public access akin to connecting from outside AHS. Both networks can be used to access Connect Care and otherwise stay connected, even in places where cellular signals are weak. 

Some users report difficulties connecting to AHSRestrict when using the latest version of Google’s Android 11 OS. 

Solution: The AHS IT network and mobility teams continue to investigate a feasible solution so that all Android devices are able to join the AHSRestrict wireless network. 

HealthSpot wireless network connections are not affected and so can be used as a short-term alternative until a solution has been confirmed. To report issues with network access, please contact the IT Service Desk & Solution Centre (1-877-311-4300).

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Managing Virtual Visits Without MyAHS Connect

Problem: Volume-related delays in access to the MyHealth Records login portal can affect access to the Connect Care patient portal (MyAHS Connect, MAC), preventing patients from using MAC to initiate telehealth visits by that means.

Context: Connect Care supports secure virtual visits for patients through its patient portal (MAC) where patients select an appointment and activate the associated video visit from within the appointment encounter. If patients are unable to log in to MAC, they may have difficulty joining a virtual visit. Connect Care Hyperspace tools for clinician participation in virtual visits are not affected.

Solution: Clinic staff (and prescribers) can call patients directly to provide an alternate means of accessing their upcoming Connect Care video visit if MAC access is compromised. 

Connect Care automatically generates a Zoom link that can be sent to the patient outside of MAC. Email can be used as follows:
  1. Within an outpatient encounter "Pre-Charting" activity, use the "Start the Visit" button to make the "Rooming" activity available.
  2. Within the Rooming activity, find the "Connect" section and use the "Email Link to..." button to generate an email with the needed Zoom link to send to the patient.
  3. If the "Email Link to..." button is not available, use the "Demographics" activity (chart search) to add the patient's email to the chart.
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Prescriber Trainee Login and Authorizing Provider Updates

Enhancement updates provide short alerts to new, fixed or improved Connect Care functions...
  • Trainee Login Job Consolidation 
  • Resident Authorizing Provider Changes
As of noon on August 17, 2021, two changes go live that affect prescriber trainees:
  • Trainee login job consolidation: 
    • Recent work in consolidating jobs with similar functionality has simplified and reduced the number of choices presented at login. 
    • Those trainees who have multiple Connect Care roles (typically PGY1 and PGY2 residents) will see an updated list of jobs when they login to Connect Care on or after August 17. 
    • For a summary of the changes and more information, see the Manual:
  • Resident authorizing provider changes: 
    • The "Authorizing Provider" button is now front-facing and easier to find for all users. It will also still be available from the "Options" drop-down menu.
    • For patients in the Emergency Department, when orders are being signed, the Authorizing Provider selection screen will appear automatically. 
    • For more information on Authorizing Providers, see the Manual:
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PFT Discrete Data in Results Review

Enhancement updates provide short alerts to new, fixed or improved Connect Care functions...
  • Pulmonary Function Testing discrete data now in Results Review

As of July 5, 2021, the "Results Review" activity, available in Connect Care Hyperspace for charts opened to inpatient encounters, contains Pulmonary Function Testing (PFT) discrete data obtained from AHS Pulmonary Function Labs using the Sentry Suite PFT information system.

Presentation of values for measures like FVC and FEV1 will allow for trending of PFT discreet data. Also, PFT data becomes easier to access for a wider range of users.

A PFT synopsis view is also newly available. "Synopsis" is an activity that streamlines the presentation of quantitative clinical data. The activity can be selected from any patient chart opened to an inpatient or outpatient encounter. 
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Connect Care Mobility Cannot Find a Network Connection

Problem: Users of Connect Care mobility (Haiku, Canto) may receive messages that the mobile application ("app") cannot establish a network connection, possibly after a system upgrade.

Context: The Connect Care mobile apps (Haiku for smartphones and Canto for iPads) are managed by another application called "Workspace One" from vmWare. This includes a "Tunnel" app that takes care of establishing a secure virtual private network (VPN) for clinical apps to use when communicating with their server. 

The Tunnel app may update automatically, and an update may include a new copyright or privacy notice. Users who are unaware of this may try to use Connect Care mobile apps without realizing that the VPN is not activated. The mobile app will fail to logon, giving a message to the effect that a network connection to its server cannot be established.

The Tunnel VPN may also fail if the user's device is already connected to a personal or enterprise VPN, as there can be a conflict.

Solution: When confronted with a network connection error message when trying to login to Haiku or Canto, be sure to open the Tunnel app and take care of any alerts or messages there. Also consider whether an independent VPN service needs to be turned off in order for the Connect Care VPN to activate.

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