This page connects AHS Medical Staff with a number of resources including to quality and safety tools; clinical guidelines and protocols; practitioner health and collaboration, Workplace Health and Safety resources, and more.
MHR Secure Mail is a new voluntary service that allows community-based physicians and clinicians to securely connect with patients for virtual care and remote consultation during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Sponsored by Alberta Health, MHR Secure Mail is one of a number of options available to physicians and we support community based physicians and clinicians choosing a solution that best meets their individual practice requirements.
Patients can access Alberta Health’s MHR Secure Mail for their community practice using the My Personal Records tool found in MyHealth Records. MyHealth Records is an online tool that allows Albertans aged 14 and older see some of their health information from Alberta Netcare, the provincial electronic health record. Patients can only send messages to their doctor if their doctor has signed up for the service.
MHR Secure Mail messaging service is being offered by Alberta Health free of charge to participating clinics to July 31, 2020. After that date, the regular monthly fee of $39.99 per provider will be in effect. There is no fee for the patient to use Secure-Mail.
Additional Tools to Connect with Patients
Alberta Health Services (AHS) is required to uphold its legal obligation as a public body that holds personal information and as a custodian of health information. In adherence to existing AHS policy, AHS provides clinicians with tools for secure transmission of clinical information for the purpose of their work and where AHS holds the legal record of care. These solutions include:
AHS is required by law to report privacy breaches, where there is an assessed risk of harm to the affected individual, to the Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner of Alberta. It is important that all AHS staff, physicians and volunteers continue to report any privacy breaches to AHS’ Information & Privacy office. To report a breach you must either fill out the Notification of Privacy Breach form (on Insite) and email it to privacy@ahs.ca or use the online form on InfoCare (on Insite). Additional resources:
Provider Self-Serve Portal (PSSP) is a secure, web-based portal for authorized healthcare providers to manage their practice information and view the contact information of other providers in the Provincial Provider Registry.
PSSP will make it easier for authorized AHS and non-AHS providers to connect with each other, share information and provide timely patient care, particularly in the event of critical test results or a public health emergency. Physicians will be the first health professionals to use the PSSP, with other health professions to be added in the future. PSSP will be available only to verified end-users of Alberta Netcare, so if you don't have Netcare access yet, you should apply.
To access PSSP, visit https://share.albertahealthservices.ca/PSSP
Advocacy is an important component of the doctor-patient relationship and physicians should individually and collectively advocate with their patients. Advocacy involves the responsible use of expertise and influence to advance patients healthcare interest. To learn more, visit:
The Practitioner Advocacy Assistance Line (PAAL) is a central point of contact for practitioners to share concerns or advise the Zone Medical Staff Association (ZMSA) presidents of challenges in advocating for patients and reporting intimidation. Confidential reporting is assured through a secure third party organization.
Visit the AMA website to learn more.
Patient Safety consists of three teams that support operational leadership and clinicians in making care safer within AHS. The Patient Safety Learning and Improvement (PSLI) team provides reporting and evaluation expertise to clinical and operational leaders responsible for implementing recommendations resulting from quality assurance reviews and supports the dissemination of patient safety learning across AHS. As part of the PSLI team, Patient Safety Specialists participate in and provide support to a variety of provincial patient safety initiatives and quality assurance activities. The Human Factors team use human factors science to develop timely, valuable, and evidence-based solutions that reduce risk and contribute to the design of a high-quality and safe healthcare system. The eQuality and eSafety team supports AHS and its partners to ensure digital health enhances patient safety and quality of care through the application of leading practices in the development, implementation, and use of digital health technology and electronic health systems.
AHS provides equitable access to health services for Albertans no matter where in the province they live, who they are, or what health concerns they may have. This commitment is outlined in the Appropriate Prioritization of Access to Health Services policy.
In order to support implementation of this policy, AHS has created several physician-specific resources:
Medication reconciliation (MedRec) is a structured three-step process in which healthcare professionals partner with patients, families and/or caregivers to ensure that accurate and complete medication information is communicated at transitions of care.
The Medication Reconciliation Policy has been updated to clarify the process, with no changes to practice.
Updates are as follows:
Questions? Contact medrec@ahs.ca.
Alberta Netcare eReferral is Alberta Health Services’ first paperless referral system that allows physicians and clinical support staff to create, submit, track and manage referrals electronically.
Please see the following resources for information and support:
Connect MD is a PCN-led program that offers primary care providers in the Edmonton and North zones access to local specialty groups for routine non-urgent patient advice over the phone.
Since its launch in 2017, Connect MD has grown to offer more than 35 specialty groups (such as Orthopedics, Internal Medicine and Dermatology), and provides patient care advice within two business days. All calls are recorded so that afterwards, a one-page transcript can be sent to the primary care physician and specialist for record-keeping and billing purposes.
Recently, Connect MD collaborated with eReferral and RAAPID to create a one-page information sheet that highlights the different options and when to contact each service.
Visit the ConnectMD website today for FAQs, a list of participating specialties and a growing number of clinical referral pathways and COVID-19 resources.
