October 2024 eTips Newsletter
Tips and advice on EMRs and digital health tools you can use NOW
From the CMO's Desk
Minding Our Digital Wellness
Digital health technology is a powerful tool. The use of electronic medical records (EMRs), apps, virtual health, and artificial intelligence (AI) has helped to improve the way we deliver health care. Those of you who attended last month's OMD Educates: Digital Health Conference heard about how these tools can help you in your practice. Yet even as a "techie" fan, I'm mindful of the potential for information overload. It's crucial that as physicians, we mind our own digital wellness.
We want to hear from you as we plan next year’s OMD Educates: Digital Health Conference. Tell us the topics that interest you and your preference for conference location and days of the week.
OMD AI News
See an AI Scribe Tool in Action!
View an AI scribe demonstration on Vimeo with OMD Peer Leader Dr. Rosemarie Lall to see the tool in action during a patient encounter.
Tip from a Peer Leader
OMD Peer Leaders comprise a network of over 60 physicians (family doctors and other specialists), nurse practitioners, nurses, and clinic managers. As expert users of OMD-certified EMRs and other digital health and virtual care tools, they work with our Advisory Service Team to help you with your EMR and digital workflows. Discover what our complimentary Peer Leader Program and
Advisory Service can do for you.
Using eConsult Feature on Avaros EMR
Watch the video from Dr. Keith Thompson, a practising family physician in London, Ontario, to discover how to use the eConsult feature for Avaros EMR users.
Advice from the General Counsel and CPO
Navigating the Legal and Ethical Labyrinth of AI in Health Care
AI has the potential to improve health care, but how do clinicians implement it in a way that satisfies our legal and accountability obligations while fostering trust with patients? Read about potential approaches to strike the right balance between progress and governance.
OMD Digital Health Services
i4C Dashboard Retired on Sept. 30
The OMD Insights for Care (i4C) Dashboard, a tool integrated with several certified EMRs, was retired, effective September 30, 2024, in alignment with Ontario Health's broader provincial focus on other clinical tools. Many clinicians rely on the i4C Dashboard, which is why OMD developed the PSS Clinic Toolkit for TELUS EMR users as an alternative, with self-serve support materials. If you use another OMD-certified EMR or need additional support for the PSS Clinic Toolkit, please contact the OMD Advisory Service at support@ontariomd.com for assistance with how to get insights from your EMR data.
HRM Improvements
HRM Preference Management Expansion – Participant Recruitment
OMD is expanding access to "preference management" – the ability to influence what is delivered through HRM based on recipient preferences – and is looking for an additional 250 clinician participants. At this time, HRM Preference Management is limited to eNotifications; the lessons learned from this preliminary effort will help us assess the impact of opting out of other report types in the future.
All participants, including those who signed up for the original trial, will have periodic opportunities to opt back in starting winter 2025. As additional report types are included in the scope of preference management, this group will also be invited to take advantage of that.
Interested in participating in this initiative? Complete the form by November 21 to opt out of receiving HRM eNotifications. Visit the OMD HRM Preference Management page for more information.
Technology Service Update
The technology service used to deliver certain HRM reports from community-based specialty clinics is being updated. OMD and Ontario Health continue to work with these non-hospital service providers delivering reports through HRM to ensure a smooth transition from the current infrastructure to the new technology. A limited number of non-hospital HRM sending facilities will face interruptions in their ability to deliver reports through HRM after October 31, 2024, and this may result in a temporary increase in faxed reports. Please feel to contact support@ontariomd.com with any questions or concerns.
OMD Advisory Service
Take Advantage of Our Free Service
Your EMR can help you identify and target patient populations for preventive care, but what if you're unsure of the quality and accuracy of the patient data? The OMD Advisory Service team can help! OMD Advisors analyze individual EMR workflows and data quality, providing hands-on support to help clinicians move beyond capturing data to using their EMRs to improve patient care and practice efficiency. There's an OMD Advisor near you – best of all, their services are free. Contact support@ontariomd.com and ask an OMD Advisor for assistance with your EMR data.
OMD Education
We present at many events and conferences to engage with you, your staff and other health system stakeholders.
View our events calendar for a complete list of conferences and webinars. Hope to see you at one of them!
Need Help with Your EMR?
Your EMR should be a benefit, not a burden. If you need help, our
OMD Advisory Service can assist you! We can help you use your EMR better to save you time and frustration.
We are experts in all OMD-certified EMRs! Through our EMR Lab, we can develop tools and suggest helpful workflow improvements.
Have you joined our EMR Communities of Practice (CoP)? CoP is a virtual place for EMR and digital health tool users, including clinicians and office staff, to come together and improve upon their knowledge, discover upcoming changes, ask questions and learn from colleagues.
Find out more about OMD EMR Communities of Practice and join the CoP for your EMR!
We can connect your EMR to drug information, eConsult, eForms, hospital reports, and lab results.
If you prefer to talk to a peer, our
Peer Leaders can also help you. Contact
support@ontariomd.com, and help will soon be on the way!
We can help you protect your patient data through our
FREE CME-accredited online Privacy & Security training.
Important Reminders
Changing EMRs or Practices, Moving Your Practice?
OMD Needs to Know!
All EMR Users
To help us provide the best support to optimize your EMR use, please notify OMD at
support@ontariomd.com when switching to another EMR, moving offices or joining a different clinic. We also need to know if you have changed your email address or phone number.
HRM Users
If you’re moving, switching Internet providers, changing your Internet plan, or switching EMRs, your IP address may be changing and OMD needs to know! We need to update our records to make sure your EMR continues to receive patient reports through HRM.
Please notify OMD at support@ontariomd.com a minimum of 7 business days in advance of the change with a complete change request and a valid IP address to ensure you don’t experience any service interruptions.
Partner News
Accenture: Humanizing Health Care
The challenges of supply and demand in health care highlight the technological need to increase system capacity. With Canada's growing aging population and fewer working-age people, conventional HR strategies fall short. As care demands rise, technology and AI become essential for automating routine tasks and augmenting support. Accenture believes a human-centred approach is vital to the adoption of virtual care and AI health care offerings. For further discussion, contact our health industry team by emailing Sheila.banks-switzer@accenture.com.
More Revenue, Less Work
Join Sandy Wetstein, CPA, Dr. Adam Stewart, and Graham Cornford for a 30-minute presentation followed by a Q&A. This presentation will analyze real physician income statements with Sandy Wetstein, CPA, as he explores the opportunities physicians have to maximize revenue and minimize costs. Dr. Adam Stewart will present optimized workflows proven to significantly reduce physician and staff administrative burdens. Join Graham Cornford to explore how PatientSERV exemplifies the strategies Mr. Wetstein and Dr. Stewart recommend regarding practice efficiency and revenue.
Registration for Ontario Health's Secure Messaging Pilot Extended
Registration to participate in the provincial patient-to-physician Secure Messaging Proof-of-Concept pilot running until March 31, 2026, has been extended. Ontario physicians may now register until October 31, 2024. More information is available in the Ministry of Health's INFOBulletin.
Share Your Input on Fax Use
As part of the Patients Before Paperwork (Pb4P) initiative, Ontario Health has engaged Deloitte to conduct a refresh survey analysis of fax use across Ontario's health system. This survey will inform efforts to phase out fax.
Health care providers are encouraged to complete this survey by October 25, in English or French, to support evaluation and planning activities.
Ideal Primary Care Practice Model Webinar – Coming Soon!
The eHealth Centre of Excellence (eCE) has launched a new webinar series on creating the Ideal Primary Care Practice Model. eCE is working with clinicians to showcase workflow improvements and relevant supports and processes to help reduce administrative burden and enhance clinician and patient experiences.
The next webinar is on improving patient access and experience of care:
- When: Tuesday, October 22, 2024, 12:25 p.m. - 1:00 p.m.
- Who: Co-hosted by Dr. Daniel Pepe, Family Physician, and Kindra Murphy, Clinic Office Manager
Register here today!
For more information on the Ideal Primary Care Practice Model or to access previous webinars, please visit the eCE website.
Peers for Joy in Work: Ontario Family Physicians Supporting Each Other
What if being a family physician who appreciates – rather than resents – their clinical work is within reach? What if you could, more often, be the kind of doctor you hoped to be? The Department of Family and Community Medicine at the University of Toronto has launched an Ontario-wide program to help family physicians mitigate burnout and facilitate finding joy in practice. The program matches you with a trained "Peer Guide" who helps you remember what drove you to become a family physician and identify ways to create joy in your clinical work again. You will receive three 1:1, 30-minute sessions. With support from the Ontario Medical Association, we are pleased to provide an honorarium of $150 for participating and 4.5 Mainpro+ CPD credits. Learn more and register here for Peers for Joy in Work.