Choosing the Right Login Department (Context)
When logging on to Connect Care, one must select a "Department" to proceed. This is an Epic "Department," not what one might normally consider a department in the organization one belongs to. Each CIS department is configured to ensure that the user is presented with an appropriate user interface, and that lists match what is locally available (e.g., medications, procedures).
Specialty-specific "virtual departments" that have the needed configuration for both outpatient and inpatient tasks are also deployed in Connect Care, allowing most prescribers to select the same CIS department for all the work they do. Only a few prescribers will log in to a physical department (exceptions are listed below).
Department Selection for Prescribers
After one has used personally relevant login departments, these are automatically saved as favourites, with the most recently used department defaulted at login. In short, a little time may be required to first find the appropriate login department(s) needed, but no time thereafter.
Prescribers Working in a Single Specialty
Selecting a Virtual Department
Physicians and other prescribers to provide health services related to a primary specialty should look for the name of their specialty's "virtual department" for the zone that they work in, and log in to this department for all clinical contexts. This includes consulting work in the emergency room, outpatient clinic work and any inpatient work. Unless in a job/specialty that requires it, prescribers cannot log in to a physical department (e.g., CGY PLC Nephrology; see next section for list of exceptions).
The structure for virtual department names is Zone + Specialty (e.g., Calgary Zone Nephrology). To find your department:
Click the magnifying glass that appears in the department entry field.
Type in the name of the specialty, e.g., “Nephrology". You will see all the virtual departments that match with that search term.
Select the appropriate department and click “Accept”.
Outpatient Roles requiring a Physical Department Login
Some workflows, such as prescriber specimen collections, must be anchored to a physical location (department) in order for requisitions, label printing and other functions to work properly. Accordingly, prescribers have the option of logging on to either physical or virtual departments.
Outpatient prescribers involved in department-dependent workflows (e.g., in-clinic biopsies) should confirm their local department name and log on using that context.
Inpatient Roles with a Physical Department Login
Some prescribers have a job/specialty that requires logging in to a physical department. For Anesthesia, Diagnostic Imaging, Emergency Medicine, Obstetrics & Gynecology, Oncology, and Rural Medicine, prescribers will need to select a physical department for login, rather than the virtual department. The list below provides guidance on how to select the appropriate physical department for these jobs/specialties.
Anesthesia: Search “anesthesia”, then select the appropriate department based on hospital
Diagnostic Imaging: Search “radiology”, then select the appropriate department based on location
Emergency Medicine: Search “emerg”, then select the appropriate department based on location
Obstetrics & Gynecology: Search “L&D”, then select the appropriate department based on location
Oncology:
Medical: Select the appropriate department based on location - AHS Oncology Calgary, AHS Oncology Edmonton, AHS Oncology Grande Prairie, or AHS Oncology Red Deer
Hematology: Select the appropriate department based on location - AHS BMT Hem North or AHS BMT Hem South
Rural Medicine:
Emergency: Search “emerg”, then select the appropriate department based on location
Inpatients: Select the appropriate department based on location - Calgary Zone Rural Medicine, Central Zone Rural Medicine, Edmonton Zone Rural Medicine, North Zone Rural Medicine, or South Zone Rural Medicine
Prescribers Alternating between Multiple Specialties
Prescribers who work in multiple facilities or specialties with access to different navigators and other tools need to ensure their login includes selection of the correct department for the clinical work they anticipate during a Connect Care session. Prescribers have access to all the departments (contexts) that they might need; their most frequently selected departments will appear on a quick-select list, sparing them from doing a look-up after the first few department switches.
Some work mixes raise unique multi-department considerations:
Switching Departments
Prescribers who work in more than one specialty in a hospital, emergency room or clinic (e.g., critical care and trauma team) may need to change login departments in order to access specific tools (e.g., surgery OpTime functions).
Note that some Epic modules depend upon the role or "job" one logs on to. Few physicians have more than one "job" and need to beware of Prescriber Roles instructions.
It is easy to change contexts (departments), even after login. This is done on the fly by using the "Change Context" option appearing in the Log Out (top right) drop-down pick-list.