Connect Care Support Forum: Orders

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Tool Tune Up: September 2025 Order Tool Updates

The spreadsheet linked from this post will be updated throughout the month as needed.
Consider looking back each week.

The spreadsheet linked below details recent or upcoming changes to order tools (e.g., order sets, SmartSets, therapy plans) that may impact prescriber personalization. Note that the link to the spreadsheet remains the same for the year, with a new tab added for each month.

The spreadsheet is typically updated at the end of each week if any new changes are confirmed/implemented. If the spreadsheet has been updated, a note with the date will be added after the spreadsheet link.

Spreadsheet: Order Tool Updates - September 2025

Tip: See the first "READ ME" tab for an explanation of the spreadsheet's tabs and columns.

Lab Order Update - Expiring Lab Orders [Updated]

Enhancement updates provide short alerts to new, fixed or improved Connect Care functions...

Lab Order Update - Expiring Lab Orders

As of July 17, 2025, expiring repeating inpatient lab orders will now show up in the "Expiring Orders" section of the Orders activity 3 days before they expire. Quick buttons can be used to renew, modify, discontinue, or let expire these orders (click the camera icon below for a screenshot).

As before, any lab orders expired TODAY will show under the "Expired Orders" section. These expired orders will have quick buttons for reordering or discontinuing.
All other expired lab orders will require a new order.

Update (Sep 10): There is now a column available in Patient Lists that displays repeating labs that are expiring within 2 days, "Expiring Repeating Lab 2d".

Tool Tune Up: August 2025 Order Tool Updates

The spreadsheet linked from this post will be updated throughout the month as needed.
Consider looking back each week.

Spreadsheet: Order Tool Updates - August 2025 [spreadsheet last updated August 28]

Tip: See the first "READ ME" tab for an explanation of the spreadsheet's tabs and columns.

Outpatient Dobutamine Stress Echocardiogram Order - New Hard Stop

Enhancement updates provide short alerts to new, fixed or improved Connect Care functions...

Outpatient Dobutamine Stress Echocardiogram Order - New Hard Stop

As of August 18, 2025, a new hard stop question will be added to the outpatient Dobutamine Stress Echocardiogram (DSE) order. The ordering provider will be prompted to review the patient's current medications and, if they determine that any of those medications should be held prior to the exam, they will then be prompted to provide a list of those medications as well as a time frame of when the patient can begin to hold those medications (click the camera icon below for a screenshot).

Inpatient DSE orders will not include this hard stop.

Ketorolac Injection/Oral Ibuprofen Drug Stewardship Initiative - Connect Care Changes

Enhancement updates provide short alerts to new, fixed or improved Connect Care functions...

Ketorolac Injection/Oral Ibuprofen Drug Stewardship Initiative - Connect Care Changes

A drug stewardship initiative aimed at reducing the unnecessary prescribing of ketorolac injection for pain management in adult patients who can tolerate oral medication was implemented July 29, 2025. This initiative also promotes the use of lower ketorolac injection and oral ibuprofen doses. Although this initiative primarily targets EDs and urgent care centres, there are a few associated changes in Connect Care that will impact other programs as well, as listed below:

Key points of initiative:

Ketorolac injection is associated with higher risks and costs than oral ibuprofen, without providing better pain relief.
Oral ibuprofen 400 mg instead of ketorolac injection should be used in adult patients who can tolerate oral medication.
If ketorolac injection is required, a 10 mg to 15 mg dose is recommended as higher doses do not improve pain relief but can cause more adverse effects.

Associated Connect Care configuration changes:

Changes to medication (ERX) records, when searching from browse/quicklist:

Ketorolac injection: The default dose has changed from 30 mg to 10 mg. The 30 mg dose button has been removed and an 10 mg dose button added.
Ibuprofen oral: The 600 mg dose button has been removed. The default dose will continue to be 200 mg.

Changes to order sets that currently have a default dose for ketorolac injection or oral ibuprofen:

ED order set authors have been notified of the above ketorolac injection and oral ibuprofen ERX record changes, and requests have been made for them to update their order sets as appropriate.
Surgery order set authors will be notified of the above ketorolac injection and oral ibuprofen ERX record changes and will be asked to update their order sets as appropriate.

For more information, see the below resources from AHS Pharmacy Services:

Tool Tune Up: July 2025 Order Tool Updates

The spreadsheet linked from this post will be updated throughout the month.
Consider looking back each week.

Spreadsheet: Order Tool Updates - July 2025 [spreadsheet last updated July 30]

Tip: See the first "READ ME" tab for an explanation of the spreadsheet's tabs and columns.

Changes to Microbiology Orders

Enhancement updates provide short alerts to new, fixed or improved Connect Care functions...

Changes When Ordering Testing for Stool Parasites and Urine Schistosomiasis

As of July 22, 2025, there are a few changes affecting the process of ordering testing for stool parasites and urine schistosomiasis:

Testing for Giardia, Cryptosporidium, or Entamoeba histolytica:

Continue using the “Stool Parasite Screen” order to test for stool parasites via PCR and microscopy. By default, only the PCR test will be performed unless additional clinical history is provided.

Testing for Parasites Beyond Giardia, Cryptosporidium, or Entamoeba histolytica:

New instructions and clinical history questions have been added to the “Stool Parasite Screen” to help ensure the correct test is ordered for the clinical scenario.
If other parasites are suspected, select “Other” in the order and complete the mandatory questions that appear. If sufficient clinical history is provided, both “Stool Parasite Screen (PCR)” and “Stool Parasite Microscopy” (formerly “Ova and Parasite, Stool”) will be performed and reported separately.

Urine Schistosomiasis Testing:

A new order, “Urine Schistosoma Microscopy”, has been created. Use this order when testing for urine schistosomiasis and provide relevant clinical history.
Discontinue using “Ova and Parasites, Tissue and/or Fluid” (now renamed “Tissue/Fluid Microscopy”) for this purpose.

Specimen collection procedures and testing modalities remain unchanged. For more information, refer to the APL Test Directory.

UPDATE: DI Interventional Radiology Order Sets - Temporary Inactivation

Enhancement updates provide short alerts to new, fixed or improved Connect Care functions...

New Ambulatory/Inpatient DI Interventional Radiology Order Sets - UPDATE

New diagnostic imaging (DI) order sets for guided procedures were released June 26, 2025 (see posting). These are temporarily inactivated to allow for additional validation work. We will re-post when the order sets are again made available.

The independent DI orders remain and should be used until new order sets are reactivated in Connect Care.

Change to Ambulatory Referral to Continuing Care Access and Home Care Order

Enhancement updates provide short alerts to new, fixed or improved Connect Care functions...

Change to Ambulatory Referral to Continuing Care Access and Home Care Order

All Home Care referrals must be triaged through the Continuing Care Access (CCA) departments, and so CCA is pre-filled in the "To Department Specialty" field of the Ambulatory Referral to Continuing Care Access and Home Care order. Previously, however, some referral orders have been signed with that field changed, causing delays in the requests being processed.

To ensure the CCA is not bypassed, as of July 8, 2025, users will not be able to change the "To Department Specialty" field on the Ambulatory Referral to Continuing Care Access and Home Care order. This is noted in the "Process Instructions" at the top of the order (click the left camera icon to see a screenshot). If the pre-filled field is changed, an error message will appear, indicating that a CCA department must be chosen before the order can be signed (right camera icon).

Changes to Immunosuppressant Medication Ordering

Enhancement updates provide short alerts to new, fixed or improved Connect Care functions...

Changes to Immunosuppressant Medication Ordering

As of July 8, 2025, a combined dose for the following immunosuppressant medications is to be entered as one order rather than placing multiple orders for different strengths of dosage:

Cyclosporine
Mycophenolate Mofetil
Mycophenolate Sodium
Tacrolimus (Short- and Long-Acting)

An “Alternative Selection” window will appear when needed to guide prescribers to use the appropriate medication record and total dose, and Pharmacy will know what to dispense depending on the order.

For more details, see the 1-page summary and full guide:

DI Interventional Radiology Request Changes - New Ambulatory/Inpatient Order Sets

Enhancement updates provide short alerts to new, fixed or improved Connect Care functions...

New Ambulatory/Inpatient DI Interventional Radiology Order Sets

UPDATE: The DI guided procedure order sets are temporarily inactivated (see posting).

As of June 26, 2025, the following diagnostic imaging (DI) interventional radiology order sets will be available in Connect Care, for ambulatory and/or inpatient. Going forward, many DI requests (as listed below) will only be available to order through these order sets. The order sets will guide prescribers to submit the appropriate sampling requests, and will ensure these requests are in an appropriate phase of care so they are not missed by the radiologists, nurses, and technologists who collect the samples.

New order sets:

Interventional Radiology Thoracentesis/Paracentesis (Ambulatory/Inpatient)
Interventional Radiology Fluid/Abscess Aspiration/Drainage (Ambulatory/Inpatient)
Interventional Radiology Joint Aspiration/Injection (Ambulatory/Inpatient)
Interventional Radiology Mass/Organ Biopsy (Ambulatory/Inpatient)
Ambulatory Interventional Radiology Lumbar Puncture

DI requests only available through order sets:

Angiography/Ultrasound Guided Aspiration and/or Injection
Angiography/CT/Ultrasound Guided Fluid Aspiration
Angiography/CT/Ultrasound Biopsy
Thoracentesis/Paracentesis Procedures

For more details, see the tip sheet.

Tip: Diagnostic Imaging Order Sets for Guided Procedures

Changes for "CBC and Differential" Orders

Enhancement updates provide short alerts to new, fixed or improved Connect Care functions...

Changes for "CBC and Differential" Orders

As of June 24, 2025, orders placed for “CBC and Differential” (CBCD) will automatically be converted to a “CBC, No Differential” (CBC) order if a differential has been reported within the same calendar day.

For more details, see the Lab Bulletin:

Lab Bulletin: Ordering Practice Changes for “CBC and Differential” (June 23, 2025)

Tool Tune Up: June 2025 Order Tool Updates

The spreadsheet linked from this post will be updated throughout the month.
Consider looking back each week.

The spreadsheet linked below details recent or upcoming changes to order tools (e.g., order sets, SmartSets, therapy plans) that may impact prescriber personalization. Going forward, the link to the spreadsheet will remain the same for the rest of the year, with a new tab added for each month.

The spreadsheet is updated at the end of each week if any new changes are confirmed/implemented. If the spreadsheet has been updated, a note with the date will be added after the spreadsheet link.

Spreadsheet: Order Tool Updates - June 2025

Tip: See the first "READ ME" tab for an explanation of the spreadsheet's tabs and columns.

Outpatient Tinzaparin and Enoxaparin Dose Banding (Adults)

Enhancement updates provide short alerts to new, fixed or improved Connect Care functions...

Outpatient Tinzaparin and Enoxaparin Dose Banding (Adults)

As of June 17, 2025, tinzaparin and enoxaparin weight-based dose banding will be applied to adult outpatient prescriptions in Connect Care. When prescribing these medications during an outpatient encounter, please review the final dose before signing the order to ensure the banded dose aligns with clinical intent.

Dose banding applies to weight-based doses only (e.g., units/kg or mg/kg) and can be overridden any time by prescribing a dose in “units” or “mg” or changing the banded dose to a “units” or “mg” dose.
This change has been made to preferentially select for prefilled syringes, and to resolve a long-standing issue where an inpatient dose may be different than the dose calculated on discharge. Inpatient dose banding has been in place for several years and is endorsed by AHS working partners and leadership.

Please see the memo for specific information on the banding parameters for outpatient tinzaparin and enoxaparin, and the tip for more information on dose banding:

Tool Tune Up: May 2025 Order Tool Updates

The spreadsheet linked from this post will be updated throughout the month.
Consider looking back each week.

The spreadsheet is updated at the end of each week if any new changes are confirmed/implemented. If the spreadsheet has been updated, a note with the date will be added after the spreadsheet link.

Spreadsheet: Order Tool Updates - 2025 [spreadsheet last updated May 29]

Tip: See the first "READ ME" tab for an explanation of the spreadsheet's tabs and columns.

Prehabilitation (Prehab) Program Referral Order

Enhancement updates provide short alerts to new, fixed or improved Connect Care functions...

Prehabilitation (Prehab) Program Referral Order

The AHS Prehabilitation (Prehab) Program provides prehabilitation services for Albertans 18 years and older who are waiting for surgery. As of May 6, 2025, a new "Prehab Program" section will be added to eleven Preprocedure Adult order sets in Connect Care, so prescribers (or their MOAs) can easily place an ambulatory referral to prehabilitation. The addition of this section will have no impact to personalization of the affected order sets.

To place an order for referral to prehabilitation using a Connect Care pre-op order set:

Open Prep for Procedure and find the patient.
In the order set, under the "General" section, find the new "Prehab Program" section. Click "Ambulatory Referral to Rehabilitation" (click the camera icon below to see a screenshot).

In the Ambulatory Referral to Rehabilitation order that opens:

The "To Department" field will be prefilled with "AHS PROV PREHABILITATION" and the "Reason" field with "Prehabilitation". Leave these as is.
In the "Comments" field, enter "prehab" or "prehabilitation" (this is a hardstop).
Sign the orders.

For more information on the Prehab Program, visit ahs.ca/Prehab. Patient handouts and posters can be requested by submitting the Prehab Order Form. If you have questions, please email Prehab@ahs.ca or call 1-888-852-3383.

Inpatient AMH Order Changes - Off-Unit Access, Passes, Psychiatry Observation Level

Enhancement updates provide short alerts to new, fixed or improved Connect Care functions...

Inpatient Addiction & Mental Health (AMH) Order Changes - Off-Unit Access, Passes, Psychiatry Observation Level

As of April 29, 2025, continuous improvement changes will be made to the following orders in Connect Care. If action is required regarding personalized tools impacted by the changes, In Basket notifications will be sent with details. For AMH/Psychiatry and ED prescribers, steps may be required to transition from the legacy orders to the revised orders; see the guide for details.

Off-Unit Access Order [PRV10] and Passes Order [PRV13]:

Enhanced workflow: Orders now contains greater detail about type of off-unit access (click left camera icon to see screenshot) or pass (right camera icon).
Revised order: Orders have language and content improvements.

Psychiatry Observation Level Order [NUR858]

Enhanced workflow: Improvements have been made to enable the completion of observations using Rover, including the ability to complete from Patient Lists directly on Rover and sorting features to ensure patients with the timeliest observation are observed first.
Revised order: Order has been updated to include new frequency functionality and reference to off-unit access information within the order moved to the Off-Unit Access order.
Unchanged documentation: No changes have been made to how observations are documented directly in Connect Care.

For more information, see:

Tool Tune Up: April 2025 Order Tool Updates

The spreadsheet linked from this post will be updated over throughout the month of April.
Consider looking back each week.

As previously posted, we will be publishing a monthly spreadsheet detailing recent or upcoming changes to order tools (e.g., order sets, SmartSets, therapy plans) that may impact prescribers' personalizations. The spreadsheet will be updated at the end of each week as new changes are confirmed/implemented, until the next month's blog post. If prescribers have the opportunity, they may want to consider looking back each week or so, to be aware of any newly added changes that may impact them.

The below linked spreadsheet covers changes for April, with hidden rows covering previously posted changes. Watch in particular for the "Impact to Personalization" column (column H), which indicates if personalizations that include the affected ordering tool will have to be redone, etc.

Spreadsheet: Order Tool Updates - April 2025 [updated April 29]

New Stillbirth Documentation Workflow

Enhancement updates provide short alerts to new, fixed or improved Connect Care functions...

New Stillbirth Navigator and Documentation Workflow

As of April 29, 2025, there will be a new Connect Care documentation workflow that must be followed when a stillbirth occurs. A new Stillbirth Navigator will help Obstetricians, Geneticists, and Neonatologists complete the necessary documentation and ordering.

For more information, see:

New Order - Request for External Sendout Lab Test

Enhancement updates provide short alerts to new, fixed or improved Connect Care functions...

New Request for External Sendout Lab Test

As of April 30, 2025, a “Request For External Sendout Lab Test” consult order will be available in Connect Care for prescribers to request rare specialty tests that are not tested in Alberta, for inpatients and outpatients. Previously, such a request was only available to Lab via a paper requisition.

This request should only be used for tests not already in Connect Care. Once signed, the request will be reviewed by the relevant department in Lab, and requires approval by the Medical Lead On Call in that Lab department. If approved, the order will be placed in Connect Care by Lab, and a notice sent to the prescriber to send the patient for blood work.

For more information on the workflow for inpatients and outpatients, see the tip sheet:

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