Connect Care Support Forum

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 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.

Spreadsheet: Order Tool Updates - May 2025

Notes on the spreadsheet:

Monthly tab (e.g., "May 2025"): Includes changes added to the table in that calendar month ("Added to Table" column). These changes may have gone into effect in a previous month, and tabs for previous months may have changes listed that go into effect in the current month.
"ALL CHANGES" tab: Gathers all the changes from all the monthly tabs, and is sorted by the date the change goes into effect ("Date Available" column) with the newest at the top.
"Impact to Personalization" column: Indicates if personalizations that include the affected ordering tool will have to be redone, etc.
Weekly updates: 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 above.

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.

Hazardous Medication Alerts for Non-Ambulatory Patients

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

Hazardous Medication Storyboard Alerts

As of May 5, 2025, hazardous medication alerts for non-ambulatory patients will appear in Connect Care when applicable on the patient’s Storyboard (click the left camera icon below to see a screenshot). By hovering to discover the alert, users will be able to access links to the Hazardous Medication Handling Risk Assessment Algorithm and the Hazardous Medication Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) Guides (right camera icon).

KNOWN hazard medication alerts will remain active until the indicated precautionary period has passed or until the medication has been discontinued or expired; POTENTIAL and REPRODUCTIVE hazard medication alerts will remain active until the medication has been discontinued or expired. Non-prescribers will also be able to see the hazardous medication alerts in other locations, including lab specimen labels.

This change is phase 1 of integrating hazardous medication identification into Connect Care; phase 2 will expand identification to ambulatory and community patients, with implementation planned for a future date.

Upcoming Oncology Department Name Changes

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

Upcoming Oncology Department Name Changes

As of May 5, 2025, the following departments will be changing names in Connect Care:

From MED MEYCC DAY CHEMO UNIT to MED MEYCC SYSTEMIC TREATMENT
From LET JACC DAY CHEMO UNIT to LET JACC SYSTEMIC TREATMENT
From RED CACC DAY CHEMO UNIT to RED CACC SYSTEMIC TREATMENT
From GRP GPCC DAY CHEMO UNIT to GRP GPCC SYSTEMIC TREATMENT
From EDM CCI DAY CHEMO UNIT to EDM CCI SYSTEMIC TREATMENT
From CGY ACCC DAY CHEMO UNIT to CGY ACCC SYSTEMIC TREATMENT

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:

Update to Inpatient Consult Orders

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

Removal of Provider Care Team Field in Inpatient Consult Orders

As previously posted, the Consult Order Optimization project started last summer is focused on ensuring that the inpatient consult types listed in Connect Care as being available within each facility are correct. As part of that work, the Provider Care Team field in Inpatient Consult orders (click the camera icon below for a screenshot) is no longer required to distinguish between two different services attempting to share a single consult order. And so, to limit the risk of inappropriate teams being consulted and to encourage the correct consult order workflow, as of May 1, 2025, the Provider Care Team field will be removed from Inpatient Consult orders.

Allied Health Inpatient Consult orders are currently exempt from this change.
The removal of the Provider Care Team field from the Inpatient Consult order does not eliminate the associated provider care teams in system or Patient Lists. It is recommended that prescribers assign the appropriate provider team from the general consult list by right-clicking on the patient name and selecting “Treatment Team”; in the pop-up window, provider teams can be added or removed.

The established process for Inpatient Consults is currently dependent on whether a specialty is available in your facility. Since 2024, RAAPID has been used to assist with consults from specialist services that may not be available in your Connect Care facility but exist elsewhere in the province. For details on workflows for non-urgent, urgent, and hyper-emergent consultation, click here.

For more information, see:

New Anesthesia Event and SmartText for Uncrossmatched Blood

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

New Anesthesia Event and SmartText for Uncrossmatched Blood

The Anesthesia Working Group has approved a new Emergency Event in the Anesthesia Intraprocedure Workspace for Uncrossmatched Blood. This event features an associated SmartText for documenting the attestation of administering uncrossmatched blood products to comply with accreditation standards. As of April 28, 2025, anesthesia providers can use this event to mark the administration of uncrossmatched blood products and utilize the SmartText for attestation documentation (click on the camera icons for screenshots).

Optimization Training - Classes in May

The CMIO Training team offers Optimization classes (a.k.a. Thrive classes), where Connect Care prescribers can learn how to take full advantage of the features of the clinical information system, to help maximize their productivity and spend more time with patients. Classes are 60 minutes in length each and focus on completing common workflows more efficiently.

Below are the Optimization classes scheduled for May 2025.

In Basket Management

May 2, 09:00–10:00
May 8, 15:00–16:00
May 14, 12:30–13:30
May 15, 12:00–13:00
May 27, 08:00–09:00
May 29, 12:00–13:00

Lab Ordering

May 9, 09:00–10:00
May 14, 12:00–13:00
May 20, 12:00–13:00
May 28, 12:00–13:00

Notes

May 6, 12:00–13:00
May 16, 12:00–13:00
May 22, 12:00–13:00
May 28, 12:00–13:00

Orders Optimization

May 2, 08:00–09:00
May 7, 12:00–13:00
May 15, 09:00–10:00
May 22, 07:30–08:30
May 27, 14:00–15:00

SmartTools

May 8, 12:00–13:00
May 15, 12:00–13:00
May 20, 12:00–13:00
May 30, 12:00–13:00

Therapy Plans

May 7, 15:00–16:00
May 13, 11:00–12:00
May 22, 12:00–13:00
May 26, 12:00–13:00

Anesthesia (These classes do not have to be done in chronological order, and each covers different topics)

Anesthesia Optimization 1 - Intraprocedural Workflows

May 20, 16:00–17:00

Anesthesia Optimization 2 - Working with Anesthesia Records

May 8, 16:00–17:00
May 21, 12:00–13:00

Anesthesia Optimization 3 - Personalizing Macros

May 13, 12:00–13:00
May 26, 15:00–16:00

Prescribers can register for these Optimization classes at the below link (clicking the new “Optimization” button at the bottom of any page in the Connect Care Manual will also take you to the booking page). Classes will be added regularly, so please continue to check back. Spots are limited to ensure trainers can address individual questions. Please ensure that you review your confirmation email from "Bookings CMIO Thrive" for the class link, and requirements for the session.

Change to Availability of Endoscopy/ Bronchoscopy Procedure Orders

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

Change to Availability of Endoscopy/Bronchoscopy Procedure Orders

To avoid procedural orders being inappropriately ordered in Connect Care instead of a referral or consult, as of April 21, 2025, endoscopy and bronchoscopy procedures (all except for motility and video capsule endoscopy) will be removed from preference and facility lists. Prescribers without any Lumens training will no longer be able to search for the removed procedural orders; instead, when the prescriber searches for the removed procedural orders, the Ambulatory Referral or Inpatient Consult to the relevant specialty will appear.

Note that prescribers with a GI or General Surgery profile will still have access to the endoscopy and bronchoscopy procedural orders.

Manual: Referral and Consultation Workflows

Fixed Netcare Printing Issue

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

Update to fix Netcare printing issue when launched from Connect Care

Since the 2024 Hyperdrive upgrade, users have had to log in separately to Netcare to print PDF files. Beginning April 14, 2025, users can resume printing from Netcare from the in-context browser (i.e., Netcare opened from within Hyperspace).

When Netcare is launched from within Connect Care, the external Netcare window will launch in a default browser window. This will cause a minor visual change (click the camera icon below for a screenshot); there are no functional or behavioural changes for users.

Update to Ambulatory Referral to Rehabilitation and Speech Therapy Orders

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

Update to Ambulatory Referral to Rehabilitation and Speech Therapy Orders

Provincial stakeholders have been working over the last several months to make improvements to the "Ambulatory Referral to Rehabilitation" and "Ambulatory Referral to Speech Therapy" orders, as higher than expected rates of missing information have been delaying patient access to these specialty care areas.

As part of this work, starting April 1, 2025, instead of an authorization question in the orders, an authorization statement will appear after selecting “Eating/Feeding/Swallowing” as the functional problem the patient is experiencing (click the camera icon below for a screenshot). This change will streamline the process when referrals are submitted to Ambulatory clinics who perform Instrumental Swallowing Assessments (Videofluoroscopic Swallow Study [VFSS] and Flexible Endoscopic Evaluation of Swallowing [FEES]).

If you have personalized a referral where you have selected "Eating/Feeding/Swallowing" as a functional problem, you will need to re-personalize the Referral order from the facility list, and within your order sets and SmartSets.

Removal of Reorder Lab Tests and Lab Procedures Functionality from Results Review

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

Removal of Reorder Lab Tests and Lab Procedures Functionality from Results Review

As a part of recent Spring 2025 Upgrade, abnormal lab results that needed retesting or a lab procedure that needed to be repeated could be reordered with a right-click from the "Results Review" activity. However, when lab tests or lab procedures are reordered from Result Review, the original order parameters and answers to questions follow through for the reorder; this may not be appropriate for all the lab tests and lab procedures that need to be reordered or repeated. Therefore, starting March 26, 2025, this functionality will be removed.

Lab tests and lab procedures can still be reordered with a right-click from Chart Review – Lab Reports, with the option to change the order parameters and order related questions (click camera icon to see screenshot).

Optimization Training - Classes in April

Below are the Optimization classes scheduled for April 2025.

In Basket Management

April 4, 08:30–09:30
April 9, 11:00–12:00
April 16, 10:00–11:00
April 23, 12:00–13:00
April 24, 11:30–12:30
April 29, 13:00–14:00

Lab Ordering

April 2, 19:00–20:00
April 9, 19:00–20:00
April 11, 12:00–13:00
April 23, 12:00–13:00
April 25, 12:00–13:00

Notes

April 2, 12:00–13:00
April 9, 12:00–13:00
April 16, 12:00–13:00
April 22, 12:00–13:00
April 30, 12:00–13:00

Orders Optimization

April 1, 13:00–14:00
April 10, 12:00–13:00
April 16, 12:00–13:00
April 23, 10:00–11:00

SmartTools

April 1, 12:00–13:00
April 8, 12:00–13:00
April 14, 12:00–13:00
April 24, 12:00–13:00

Therapy Plans

April 14, 12:00–13:00
April 23, 11:00–12:00
April 29, 13:00–14:00

Update to RAAPID Service Request Order

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

Updated "Requested Service" List in RAAPID Service Request Order

RAAPID is a central point of contact for prescribers seeking access to urgent consultation, transfer for assessment, transfer for admission, or coordination of repatriations to sending facilities. The "RAAPID Service Request" order should be entered in Connect Care by prescribers to request a service from RAAPID.

As of March 25, 2025, the "Requested service" list in the RAAPID Service Request order has been adjusted to provide selections from the more precise Clinical Services list. This information will help RAAPID connect you with the appropriate prescriber. Note that this update may impact personalized preference lists; if you have this order personalized with a particular "requested service" selection, you will need to re-personalize it.

For more information on the RAAPID Service Request order, see the tip sheet.

Tip: RAAPID Service Request Orders

Additional Update to Consent eForms - Telephone Consents [Updated]

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

Connect Care Upgrade Update: Additional Changes to Telephone Consent Forms

As previously posted, the recent Connect Care Spring Upgrade brought some changes to select eForms such Consent for Procedure forms, including the removal of the signer name entry fields from the left pane and moving name entry to the e-signature boxes. However, it was discovered that the new method of entering the signer’s name via the e-signature box prevents users from being able to enter the signer’s name when no signature is applied, i.e., in telephone consent workflows where signatures are not collected.

As of March 20, 2025, when the "Telephone" button is selected under the "Telephone/Fax Consent" section for the consent form types listed below, a name field will again appear (click the camera icon for a screenshot). For more information, see page 40 of the C onsent & eForms Navigator

Quick Start Guide. Non-telephone consents will continue to use the new workflow detailed in the previous post.

Consent forms affected:

Consent to Surgery or Invasive Procedure
Consent to Treatment Plan or Procedure
Consent Withdrawal or Refusal
Consent Immunization
Consent for pre-mortem interventions
Consent to Organ and Tissue Donation
Informed Consent Subject to the Mental Health Act

[Edit: Post updated April 1]

Update to eForms Including Consent for Procedure, All Mental Health Forms

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

Connect Care Upgrade Update: eForms including Consent for Procedure and all Mental Health Forms

During to the recent Connect Care upgrade, issues occurred with select eForms, specifically related to name entry fields on the left pane malfunctioning, and malfunctioning name entry fields within the Forms. Name entry fields have been removed from the left pane, and malfunctioning signature and name fields have been fixed. [Edit Mar. 21: Further changes have been made for telephone consents; the below does not apply to telephone consents, see the separate blog post for more info.]

All signer name entry must now occur within the e-signature box. Click the "+ Add Signer Name" button when entering a signature, both for the signature of the patient/person providing consent and the prescriber (click on camera icon below to see screenshot). Completing this will populate all necessary name and date fields.

If you completed any Consent for Procedure or MHA eForm on the morning on March 14, 2025, please check to ensure the form was completed correctly, including all required fields. Completed Forms that include an error can be printed, addended in pen, and rescanned into Connect Care using the appropriate Document Type.

If you have any questions, please call the IT Solution Centre (1-877-311-4300) or submit a ticket through Insite.

Pharmacy Update - Levodopa-Carbidopa Custom Dosing Units

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

Pharmacy Update - Levodopa-Carbidopa Custom Dosing Units

Currently, part tablet orders of levodopa-carbidopa are supplied as all part tablets when available. However, this can cause confusion when dispensing and administering part table orders. To increase patient safety, as of March 18, 2025, three new custom dosing units will be created to allow the system to use Intelligent Medication Selection (IMS) to select the most appropriate product(s) for the order. The three new custom dosing units are:

“tablet of 100 mg – 10 mg”
“tablet of 100 mg – 25 mg”
“tablet of 250 mg – 25 mg”

With this change, Pharmacy will no longer supply part tablet orders as all part tablets, for both inpatient and outpatient orders. Click the camera icon below to see a before-and-after screenshot of the order composer.

Tool Tune Up: January–March 2025 Order Tool Updates

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

Starting with this blog post, to coincide with each issue of the monthly Behind The Charts prescriber newsletter, 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. As some changes are confirmed with relatively short timeframes and so may be confirmed and implemented before the next newsletter issue, the spreadsheet will be updated at the end of each week, until the next newsletter issue and corresponding 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. In the future, we’re hoping to make available a searchable database of system updates for all Connect Care users to access and set up alerts.

While going forward the spreadsheet linked from these blog posts will just cover the previous month plus upcoming changes, this first spreadsheet stretches back further, covering changes for January 16 to March 25. The changes include tools in the ambulatory and inpatient contexts. Further details are in the spreadsheet - 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 - January-March 2025 [updated March 13]

New Inpatient Option to CC Multiple Test Results

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

New Inpatient "CC Results" Button

As of February 27, 2025, a new "CC Results" option will be available in the inpatient Orders and Discharge Orders Reconciliation activities, allowing prescribers to copy the results of multiple tests at the same time (instead of one at a time) to another provider(s). This option is already available in ambulatory workspaces.

From either activity, click on the "Options" dropdown menu, then select "CC Results" (click on the camera icons below to see screenshots).

In the pop-up window that appears, search for the intended recipient(s), select the labs you want to cc, click the "Add" button, and then "Accept".

If you want different recipients to get different results, these steps must be done for each recipient (i.e., click "Accept" after adding the first recipient, close the window, and repeat the above steps for the second recipient).

Formulary Changes - New Topical Anesthetic and Oral Histamine H2-Antagonist

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

Upcoming Formulary Changes

As of February 25, 2025, the below formulary changes will go into effect. Due to these changes, personalizations of the replaced medications within order sets will be removed.

New topical anesthetic: Lidocaine 4% cream (Maxilene) and prilocaine–lidocaine 2.5 %-2.5% cream (EMLA) will be replaced with lidocaine 5% cream (Zensa). This product is intended to provide topical anesthesia prior to IV cannulation, venipuncture and IM administration. The cost savings identified by this change is significant.
New oral histamine H2-antagonist: Oral ranitidine (Zantac) will be replaced with oral famotidine (Pepcid).

For further details, see the "DTC Update" newsletter from the Provincial Drugs and Therapeutics Committee (DTC).

Optimization Training - Classes in February/March

The CMIO Training team offers Optimization classes (previously called Thrive classes), where Connect Care prescribers can learn how to take full advantage of the features of the clinical information system, to help maximize their productivity and spend more time with patients. Classes are 60 minutes in length each and focus on completing common workflows more efficiently.

Below are the Optimization classes scheduled for late February and March 2025.

In Basket Management

March 4, 08:00–09:00
March 11, 12:00–13:00
March 12, 10:00–11:00
March 12, 12:30–13:30
March 20, 09:30–10:30
March 25, 14:30–15:30

Lab Ordering

February 26, 12:00–13:00
March 5, 12:00–13:00
March 12, 12:00–13:00

Notes

March 7, 12:00–13:00
March 19, 12:00–13:00

Orders Optimization

February 28, 07:00–08:00
March 3, 12:00–13:00
March 11, 10:00–11:00
March 12, 12:00–13:00
March 20, 12:00–13:00
March 27, 10:00–11:00

SmartTools

February 25, 12:00–13:00
March 4, 12:00–13:00
March 11, 12:00–13:00
March 25, 12:00–13:00

Anesthesia (These classes do not have to be done in chronological order, and each covers different topics)

Anesthesia Optimization 1 - Intraprocedural Workflows

March 3, 10:00–11:00

Anesthesia Optimization 2 - Working with Anesthesia Records

March 4, 15:00–16:00

Anesthesia Optimization 3 - Personalizing Macros

March 25, 15:00–16:00

Prescribers can register for these Optimization classes at the below link. Classes will be added regularly, so please continue to check back. Spots are limited to ensure trainers can address individual questions. Please ensure that you review your confirmation email from "Bookings CMIO Thrive" for the class link, and requirements for the session.

Place in Outpatient/Hospital Ambulatory Surgery Order - Updated Availability [Updated]

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

Place in Outpatient/Hospital Ambulatory Surgery Order - Updated Availability

Since the launch of Connect Care, several common errors have been identified in the selection of ADT (Admission, Discharge, Transfer) orders and/or using the incorrect order to facilitate patient movement. One example of this is using the "Place in Outpatient/Hospital Ambulatory Surgery" order AFTER an "Admit to Inpatient" order has been placed.

In order to reduce confusion and prevent providers from entering the Place in Outpatient/Hospital Ambulatory Surgery order after an admit order has been placed, the order has been removed from the facility pick list. Effective December 12, 2024, the order can only be found and selected within the pre-admission order sets which should be done preoperatively. For those surgeons who do not enter pre-procedure order sets, the order can also be found within the post-procedure order set.

Place in Outpatient/Hospital Ambulatory Surgery: This is an ADT order that should only be used for Day Surgery patients.

Using the Prep for Procedure navigator, the order can be found in the Surgical Admission pre-procedure order sets.
Should be selected for patients expected to discharge after surgery.

Admit to Inpatient: This order should ONLY be used for a Day Surgery class patient if they require an inpatient admission (i.e., they are no longer a Day Surgery patient).

Once the admit order is placed, it cannot be undone by placing a Place in Outpatient/Hospital Ambulatory Surgery order.
The patient class will update to Inpatient after the admit order is placed, which will require surgeons to complete a discharge summary and full medication reconciliation.
To facilitate patient movement for Day Surgery patients into inpatient spaces (keeping them as Day Surgery class), use the extended stay workflow.
If plans have changed post-procedure and the patient requires extra recovery time on a unit, the surgeon can modify the existing Place in Outpatient/Hospital Ambulatory Order and select "Yes" to "Is this patient expected to stay later than regular business hours?".

The Place in Outpatient/Hospital Ambulatory Surgery order is not required to move a Day Surgery patient from a day surgery/cath lab to an inpatient unit. The nurse can simply create a bed request from the status board to facilitate this patient movement. For more information on how to facilitate bed planning on an inpatient unit for day surgery/extended stay patients, see the extended stay workflow tip sheet.

For more information on surgical workflows and choosing the correct navigator:

[Post updated February 7, 2025]

Patient List Updates - Out of Country / Province / Zone Patients

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

Patient List Updates - Out of Country/Province/Zone Patients

Patients that live out of country, out of province or out of zone can now be viewed in Patient Lists. This information can help prioritize patients that need repatriation to help alleviate capacity constraints within a site.

To view patients that live out of country, out of province or out of zone, prescribers must add the "Out of Country Province or Zone" column to their Patient List:

Highlight your patient list and click "Edit List" to see the drop down menu (click the left camera icon below to see a screenshot). Select "Properties (click the right camera icon below).

In the pop-up, using the search field, find the "Out of Country Province or Zone" column, click "Add Column", and then "Accept".

You should now see the column in your patient list.

Updated Respiratory Infection (Incl. COVID-19) NAT Order

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

Updated Respiratory Infection (Incl. COVID-19) NAT Order

Ordering of rapid COVID-19 PCR, rapid influenza/RSV PCR, and the respiratory pathogen panel (RPP) occurs using the "Respiratory Infection (incl. COVID-19) NAT" order. As of February 7, 2025, the RPP can be ordered alone when COVID-19 and/or flu/RSV testing is not needed or has already been performed. The RPP can be added on to an existing specimen in Connect Care within 48 hours of collection of the specimen. Add-on requests after 48 hours can be done by contacting the laboratory or submitting the ProvLab add-on test form.

The RPP tests for SARS-CoV-2, flu, RSV, human metapneumoviruses, other human coronaviruses, adenovirus, enterovirus/rhinovirus, and Mycoplasma pneumoniae. If testing for the full panel of viruses is required, consider ordering only RPP rather than rapid COVID-19/flu/RSV.
Only request RPP or any other respiratory virus testing when it is required for clinical care AND meets appropriate testing criteria (severely immunocompromised, critical respiratory failure, myocarditis, acute flaccid paralysis, child with fever NYD after initial investigations, outbreak investigations).
RPP is often tested within 24 hours upon receipt at the APL Provincial Public Health Laboratory.

See the updated tip sheet for further information:

Tip: Respiratory Infection (Incl. COVID-19) NAT Order

Changes to Hereditary Thrombophilia Investigations Order

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

Changes to Hereditary Thrombophilia Investigations Order

As of February 5, 2025, the following changes have been made to the "Hereditary Thrombophilia Investigations [LAB4347]" order:

Two new hard stops have been added, for the "Test(s) Required?" and the "Is the patient currently on any anticoagulants?" questions (click the camera icon below to see a screenshot).

The antiphospholipid panel has been removed. If needed, it should be ordered separately by adding the "Antiphospholipid Syndrome Investigation [LAB478]" order to the cart.

A new pop-up will appear has been added when the patient has not met criteria for testing and no tests will be added to the cart. Prescribers are asked to accept the order or review the answers to questions before signing the order. If the patient does not meet the testing criteria, the prescriber should call the Thrombosis Specialist to investigate (www.specialistlink.ca).

Changes to "After Visit ECG 12-Lead" Order

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

Central Zone Lab ECG Locations Removed from "After Visit ECG 12-Lead" Order

As of January 16, 2025, to reduce potential errors in order entry, a number of Central Zone Lab ECG locations have been removed from the "After Visit ECG 12-Lead" order as selectable preferred locations: Breton, Castor, Centennial, Consort, Drayton Valley, Drumheller, Hanna, Innisfail, Lacombe, Olds, Rimbey, Rocky Mountain House, St. Joseph's General Hospital Vegreville, Sundre, Three Hills, and Wetaskiwin. These Central Zone sites were removed from the ECG order to align with all other lab facilities in the province and establish a consistent workflow for both ordering providers and lab staff.

If the ordering provider does not see their preferred location listed under the "Connect Care Facility" option in the order composer, "Lab Facility (Requisition to print)" should instead be selected (click on the camera icon below for a screenshot). Once the order is entered, a requisition will then automatically be printed to give to the patient; when the patient presents to the lab, the lab will be able to find and release the ECG order.

Changes to Anesthesia Medication Records - Action May Be Needed

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

Changes to Ropivacaine, Bupivacaine PCEA, and Nerve Block Medication Records

On January 28, 2025, technical changes to the Ropivacaine, Bupivacaine PCEA, and Nerve Block medication records in Connect Care will result in the removal of existing personalizations that include these records. In particular, any personalizations for the parameters and administration instruction hardstop fields in the Epidural/Intrathecal/Nerve Block, Epidural/Regional Pediatric, and Amputation Post-procedure Adult order sets will have to be re-entered (click on the camera icon to see a screenshot for the Ropivacaine change). Nothing will change regarding how these medications are ordered by prescribers.

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