Tippy - Email Alerts to In Basket Status

Tippies can be quickly adopted with immediate workflow benefits...

• Email Alerts to In Basket Status

Some Connect Care prescribers work a few weeks (e.g., inpatient service) alternating with weeks off clinical work. The clinical information system (CIS) In Basket is important to check daily when on-service, but results and other messages will be less frequent when off-service.

It can be useful to configure the CIS to provide an email alert to new, or accumulating, In Basket tasks. The alert email can go to an address of one's choice because no patient information is revealed.

To set this up, go to the "Personalize" menu within the In Basket activity in Hyperspace.

Select the "Reminder Emails" tab in the pop-up that appears.

You can set the email to use for alerts, the frequency of alerts and whether specific In Basket folders should be used to trigger alerts.

• Tip: In Basket Email Reminders

Tippy - F3 to Expand

Tippies can be quickly adopted with immediate workflow benefits...

• F3 to Expand Edit Area

There are many Connect Care activities where text can be entered and edited. Examples include notes, In Basket communications, problem overviews and handoff reports.

Sometimes editing is easier if the edit area is bigger. That's what F3 does. Press the F3 (function) key from within any text editing tool, and the edit space will expand to a near full-screen size.

An F3-enabled edit area is recognized by its tools button bar. Comment boxes, for example, do not have these buttons and do not respond to F3.

When dictating (Dragon Medical One), if this F3 functionality is important, create a custom command with a single step as illustrated:

Tippy - Fast Notes

Tippies can be quickly adopted with immediate workflow benefits...

• F2, Spacebar, Enter = Fast SmartText

SmartPhrases and SmartText can make documentation a breeze. Indeed, it is possible to complete a complex note without taking fingers off the keyboard.

Commonly used within notes and communications, SmartPhrases and SmartText help set the form and flow of a note, using active placeholders (e.g., SmartLinks, SmartLists) to pull in patient-specific details from elsewhere in the chart. When working with a text automation:

• The F2 key jumps from one placeholder (***) to the next.
• When in a SmartList, use the spacebar to select a list item(s) and use the Enter key to move to the next smart item.
• Yellow lists allow only one selection, whereas blue lists allow multiple selections.

If using a pointing device within lists, left-click (=spacebar) to select and right-click (=enter) to proceed.

If dictating (Dragon Medical One), say "next wildcard" to move from item to item, then left-click to select and right-click to proceed.

Email Subscription Service Ending for Connect Care Clinician Blogs

Effective end of this month (December 31, 2024), we will be discontinuing our current email subscription service for all our Connect Care clinician blog channels. At this time, we do not have an alternate email subscription service available, but will continue to look for an appropriate service that meets our readers' needs. 

In the meantime, consider bookmarking the main Bytes channel (bytes.connect-care.ca) and checking in on Fridays and the end of each month. Digests of new blog posts across all Connect Care clinician blog channels are published most Fridays on Bytes under the title "On Other Channels". Also, our monthly prescriber newsletter, Between the Charts (news.connect-care.ca), highlights key blog posts from the previous month; issues are typically published in the last week of each month, and a notice is published on Bytes as soon as the next issue is available. Both of these updates are gathered under the same tag, and so can be directly bookmarked via ahs-cis.ca/cmioupdates.

• Tip: Using Connect Care Blogs
• Blog Updates: ahs-cis.ca/cmioupdates 

Tippy - External Orders for Inpatients

Tippies can be quickly adopted with immediate workflow benefits...

• External Orders for Inpatients

Inpatient and outpatient order catalogues are not the same. Some order items are available in one context but not the other. This works most of the time.

However, there may be situations when the purpose of ordering is to organize actions outside the current encounter facility. Examples include ordering a procedure performed at another facility or setting up a clinic visit that occurs during or after the current admission.

If external actions need to be requested before the patient leaves the current admission, these can be lined up by placing "External Orders" within the Orders activity:

Be sure to sign any external orders. Pending is also possible if there are details to be worked out prior to discharge. 

• Demo: Using External Orders for Inpatients

It remains possible, and common, to order external actions at the time of discharge using the Discharge navigator "Discharge Orders" tab. Remember that a discharge order will be automatically generated and may need to be managed.

Tippy - Facility List

Tippies can be quickly adopted with immediate workflow benefits...

• Can't Find an Order ➡ Check Facility Tab

Searches for orders (medications, tests, procedures, etc.) can come up empty. It is important to check the set of tabs that appear to the right of the order look-up tool.

The leftmost tab, "Browse", displays found orders in categories. The next tab, "Preference List", focuses attention on what is commonly ordered by you or your group. 

When looking for something new or unusual, be sure to check the rightmost tab, "Facility List", as this will show all matches to what is available to order for your location.

Tippy - Edit Multiple Orders

Tippies can be quickly adopted with immediate workflow benefits...

• Edit Multiple Orders

When placing several similar orders (e.g., a number of laboratory tests), save time by editing the priority, start date, frequency, etc. for all orders together. Once more than one orders are lined up (not yet signed), seek the "Edit Multiple" link or "Options" menu item:

One is presented with a pop-up with the lined up orders listed, can check some or all for common edits, then adjust the shared properties that can be co-edited before accepting and applying to all.

Tippy - Keep Important Information to Hand in the Sidebar

Tippies can be quickly adopted with immediate workflow benefits...

• Sidebar Conveniences

Upon opening a chart in Hyperspace, most device screens have enough room to display a rightward "Sidebar" where content remains visible as one moves through different sections of the chart. If not immediately displayed, a separator bar can be selected to expand, collapse or resize the Sidebar area. The Sidebar has one or more tabs at the top to help organize different types of information selected for Sidebar display.

One or more chart "objects" can be attached to the Sidebar to keep the information in the foreground while working through navigators, activities, notes or orders in the main chart display area. For example, while in Chart Review, right-click on the row of an item of interest and then select "Display in Chart Sidebar" from the pop-up menu that appears. The report will be added to the tabs at the top of the Sidebar.

Other options become available when information is attached to the Sidebar. For example, click on the down-arrow in the tab to expose a pop-up with an option for "floating" the tab so that it can be dragged and positioned to a second monitor.

Tippy - Undo

Tippies can be quickly adopted with immediate workflow benefits...

• Ctrl + Z = Undo

Regret is common when getting to know Connect Care text automation tools. It is easy to pick the wrong SmartPhrase, for example, and then want to pick something different. Undo is available from the editing menu just above the note or letter content being edited (just like a word processor).

It can be faster to press the control key and the letter "z" at the same time (if using a Mac, make sure that you have the right key-mapping enabled). This Ctrl+Z convention is widely followed in computer software.

If dictating (Dragon Medical One), pause and say "undo that" or "undo last action".

Tippy - Easy Dictation within Mobile Apps

Tippies can be quickly adopted with immediate workflow benefits...

• Mobile Dictation within Apps

Dragon Medical One remains the app to use when dictating into a patient's chart on a desktop or tablet in Hyperspace. But what if you are rounding and want to quickly initiate a progress note for touch-up later when using your favourite computer in the comfort of your office?

Haiku (smartphones) and Canto (iPads) support Nuance Dragon dictation directly into progress notes initiated in the mobile app. You have access to all the medical tricks of Dragon, including personalizations. A demo says it all:

• Demo: Within Haiku/Canto dictation support

Be sure to update to the latest version of Haiku or Canto (re-install from the Workspace One Catalogue).

Tippy - Quick Launch Dragon Medical One

Tippies can be quickly adopted with immediate workflow benefits...

• Quick Launch Dragon Medical One

Many clinicians use voice controls and in-system dictation at every opening of Connect Care Hyperspace. But Dragon Medical One does not launch by default. It has to be explicitly activated within a Connect Care session.

Most know to click on the "Dragon Login" button in the Hyperspace topmost toolbar.

Faster is to use the Ctrl+1 keyboard shortcut as soon as Hyperspace is opened.

Tippy - Fast Menu Buttons

Tippies can be quickly adopted with immediate workflow benefits...

• Keyboard Launch of Main Activities

It is easy to launch button-bar activities without leaving the keyboard.

Combine the Control (Ctrl) key with the number of the button, counting from the left. Hovering over the button will bring up a reminder of its keyboard shortcut.

"Dragon Login" is always the leftmost button, and so can be easily launched with Ctrl+1.

Tippy - Personalized Toolbar

Tippies can be quickly adopted with immediate workflow benefits...

• Personalized Toolbar

The main toolbar holds horizontally arranged buttons at the top of Hyperspace. These can be personalized to reflect what is most commonly needed. The buttons and order can be changed. Users should select commonly accessed activities not otherwise easy to launch from tabs. Occasionally accessed activities are better opened from the Search tool.

Click on the rightmost wrench symbol in the top toolbar. This will open a personalization activity. Drag and drop buttons to select and arrange to one's liking.

Clear any but the most useful buttons and consider adding: Patient Lookup, My Reports, Sign My Visits, Resource Links, Media Manager.

• Tip: Hyperspace Personalization
• Demo: Hyperspace Personalization

Tippy - Equals Sign in Lookups

Tippies can be quickly adopted with immediate workflow benefits...

• "=" for Fast Lookups

Anything that can accelerate pick-list navigation saves time. Clinicians may encounter data lookup lists repeatedly during workflows. Entering the "=" character in the search box will pull up the last value used for that list in the same Connect Care session.

If, for example, one is picking the clinical service for a handoff list or progress note, use "=" and the last service selected will be pulled in automatically. The same applies for provider or patient names.

Experiment with the "=" sign in lists to discover where it works best for you!

Tippy - Time-Mark for Notes

Tippies can be quickly adopted with immediate workflow benefits...

• Time-Mark in Notes Review

A prior Tippy highlighted the value of "Time-Mark" in results review. It is possible to mark all viewed lab results as viewed, so the next time one opens the chart all the new results not previously seen are highlighted (bold font).

A parallel convenience is available when reviewing documentation notes:

Clicking on the "Mark All as Not New" command will cause all notes to be marked as already viewed. The next time one opens the chart and there is new documentation content, the unseen notes are highlighted with bold titles.

Tippy - Modifying Orders

Tippies can be quickly adopted with immediate workflow benefits...

• Modifying Orders

In the inpatient context, when wanting to change an order, use the "Modify" button (click the below camera icon for a screenshot). Modify allows you to change the dosage, frequency, and/or administration instructions, and using this function may reduce the BPAs you encounter during the ordering workflow. Note that, for medication orders, the formulation must remain the same (injectable concentration, tablet, oral liquid, etc.), and Modify should not be used when trying to order a non-standard medication (see this previous Tip for details). 

In the ambulatory context, there is not a Modify button; instead, to change an ambulatory order, use the "Reorder" icon. This will discontinue the current order and place a new one.

Tippy - Time-Mark from Storyboard

Tippies can be quickly adopted with immediate workflow benefits...

• Time-Mark in Storyboard

It helps to have a visual indication of test results that are new, or not previously reviewed by the clinician. Typically, new information is set apart with a bold font.

We've shown how "Time-Mark" can be used in the "Results Review" activity to clear the bolding indicator and indicate that you are aware of everything until that point in time.

The same functionality is conveniently available in the Storyboard that appears as the leftmost column in all open charts. Hover over the Storyboard section entitled "New Results" to see the Time-Mark icon appear.

Click on the Time-Mark icon to have the same effect as clicking on this in Results Review. A checkpoint is set and all results marked as not-new. The next time the chart is opened, it is easier to discern if new test results have appeared.

Tippy - Time-Mark for Results

Tippies can be quickly adopted with immediate workflow benefits...

• Time-Mark for Results

The "Results Review" activity is available when a chart is open. It provides a tabular display of test results and offers a great way to take in a lot of information at once... even better if one can pick out new information. This is easy to facilitate.

After scanning the content of Results Review, click on the "Time-Mark" icon. This tags the values as having been seen, as indicated by converting to regular (non-bold) font.

When next in Results Review for the same chart, any new results will be set apart in bold font.

Tippy - Hover to Discover

Tippies can be quickly adopted with immediate workflow benefits...

• Hover to Discover

Pointing devices (mouse, trackpad, pen, etc.) are used to move around in Hyperspace. When the pointer is positioned above an item (e.g., button, list row, Storyboard section) and left stationary for a few seconds, it is "hovering".

Hovering actions can be helpful:

• A pop-up display may show, giving more information about the item hovered over (e.g., full list of meds when hovering over medication section of Storyboard). 
• A help-bubble may open, showing more information about what one can do or what the command button is for. 
• In many cases, the hover-message reminds about the keyboard shortcut.

In Haiku or Canto, the functional equivalent is tap-n-hold.

Tippy - Right-Click Powers

Tippies can be quickly adopted with immediate workflow benefits...

• Right-Click Powers

Pointing devices (mouse, trackpad, pen, etc.) are used to move around in Hyperspace. These have a main (left) button or equivalent (e.g., one-finger tap on trackpad, tap-n-hold on iPad). This works to select or activate whatever the pointer is pointing to.

Pointing devices also have a secondary (right) button or equivalent (e.g., double-finger tap on trackpad).

This works differently in different places, but right-clicks almost always save time:

• Lists and command icons - Context-sensitive pop-up menu listing things one can do (e.g., make favourite, edit) for the item that the cursor points to.
• Order-entry - Right-click anywhere in an order detail box to accept the order (instead of clicking on the "Accept" button).
• NoteWriter - When working with tri-state buttons ("+" button for positive and "−" button for negative), a right-click is the equivalent of clicking the "−" button.
• SmartLists - When working with SmartText and selecting items in a SmartList, a right-click is the equivalent of the Enter key for moving to the next editable item in the SmartText.

There's more! Experiment with right-click (or equivalent) to learn new efficiencies without taking one's hand off the pointing device.