Connect Care Newsletter - July 5, 2019

Connect Care News brings you a look at highlights and updates from the Connect Care program. To learn more, visit insite.ahs.ca/connectcare or ahs.ca/connectcare.

In this issue:

Refining the Connect Care timeline

Connect Care is being implemented in multiple phases, called “waves” to minimize disruptions for patients and healthcare providers. As the Connect Care program continues to evolve, there have been a few changes to the timing for when certain sites, departments and programs will launch Connect Care.

Senior leaders have approved a key change to the Wave 1 Launch date. Launch will move from the original date of Saturday, November 2, 2019 to early in the morning on Sunday, November 3, 2019 to accommodate the Daylight Savings Time change. By launching on November 3, after the time change, the activation of order-entry, documentation and other functions will be more straightforward.

Here is a summary of the additional approved changes:

• Provincial Tuberculosis (TB) services will be included in Waves 1 and 2.
• Some Community Addiction and Mental Health clinics will now launch Connect Care with their respective parent sites in Waves 2 to 6. Due to the wildfires, North Zone finalization has been delayed. The new Grande Prairie Hospital is currently slated for Wave 4, subject to opening date. Calgary Zone is being finalized through sequence exception process analysis.
• Alberta Kidney Care, Alberta Screen Test and Cancer Control Alberta provincial programs will launch Connect Care in Waves 4 and 5.
• Details have been confirmed for some provincial programs and standalone locations outside core AHS sites in Waves 7-9. 

An updated version of the Connect Care Implementation Timeline can be found here and a detailed department and services view for Waves 1-6 can be found on the Connect Care Sequencing Portal.

Any questions or concerns can be directed to either your manager or connectcare@ahs.ca.

Welcoming our newest virtual team members

We are pleased to introduce Connie and Carey, the newest virtual members of the AHS team.

In this introduction video, Connie and Carey are eager to help their AHS colleagues move beyond their initial fears and frustrations to realize the full benefits of Connect Care. Based on real input from AHS frontline staff and physicians, the video features scenarios demonstrating how this initiative will connect us to each other as a unified healthcare team to improve the safety and care of our patients.

After you watch this video, we encourage you to share it with your teams and with your colleagues so they can welcome Connie and Carey to the team too.

For more information, reach out to connectcare@ahs.ca.

Following the patient journey

After years of planning, consultation and development, stakeholders were given a glimpse of the Connect Care system last week.

Representatives from sites and programs in Waves 1 and 3 gathered across the Edmonton Zone for the first Workflow Walkthrough event. The event was a chance for end users to see how the Connect Care system will be used in some of our key workflows in advance, by following patient journeys through our healthcare system. Attendees watched videos and live demonstrations, and had opportunities to have their questions answered.

Videos and presentations from the event are now available on Insite:

• End-to-End Patient Journey
• Emergency Department Workflow

This event is an important part of Connect Care preparations and will be repeated in each wave.

External: https://ahs.ca/connectcare
Insite: https://insite.ahs.ca/connectcare
Feedback: connectcare@ahs.ca