Cancer Care Alberta (CCA) Supports
Connect Care Launch 5 will include the provincial program Cancer Care Alberta (CCA). This section provides essential pre- and post-launch information for CCA prescribers and physician leaders.
PRE-LAUNCH - Connect Care Implementation Info for CCA Prescribers (click to expand/collapse)
Connect Care Implementation Timeline
Cancer Care Alberta will implement Connect Care as a provincial program with Launch 5 on November 6, 2022. For specific readiness and training dates relevant to CCA prescribers, see the infographic. For a list of essential pre-launch actions for all prescribers in Launch 5, see the Countdown Checklist.
Readiness and Implementation Activities
There will be Conversion Walkthrough sessions September 19-29, 2022 to support prescribers in preparation for oncology conversion activities. Conversion of treatment and therapy plans will be reviewed with an opportunity to ask questions. The below linked document contains the details for these sessions.
Oncology Supported Workflow Practice (SWP) sessions for prescribers are also coming in late September to October for "hands to keyboard" practice to CCA sites, where end users can put into practice what they have learned during their in-class training. See the below linked document for links to register for these SWP sessions.
Next Steps for Ordering Bladder Instillations in Connect Care
Once live on Connect Care, bladder instillations to be administered at CCA sites or at a Day Medicine site implementing Connect Care (Red Deer Regional Hospital) will need to be ordered by the urologist as a therapy plan in the Connect Care system. Faxed orders will no longer be accepted and CCA Nurses/Day Medicine Nurses will not be able to transcribe these orders into Connect Care.
Therapy plan conversion work will begin on October 11, 2022, whereby CCA Nurses will enter in the therapy plans; in Red Deer, this work will be done by Day Medicine Nurses. To ensure your patients’ orders continue to stay active and for your patients to receive treatment, you will need to review and sign the therapy plans. During the conversion period, we highly encourage you to take this opportunity to practice entering a few therapy plans while multiple supports are present.
To support you with this transition, please see the below resources:
CCC BCG Therapy Plan Prescriber Letter (Launch 5) – Outlines the action items required for Urologists to ensure their patients’ orders continue to stay active and receive treatment.
Therapy Plan Tipsheet (Launch 5) – Outlines the steps to review and sign a therapy plan during conversion, as well as details on how to sign up for prescriber-led support sessions on ordering therapy plans.
Cancer Staging Tipsheet – Outlines how to complete staging in Connect Care.
For any questions or if you require more information, please email cmio.cca@ahs.ca.
Launch Supports for CCA Prescribers
Prescriber launch supports are available during the launch period, approximately 1-2 weeks before launch and up to 4 weeks post-launch. They are organized into four tiers, to be used sequentially:
Peers and Super Users (first point of contact)
Site Drop-in Centres (troubleshooting on location)
Virtual Drop-in Centre (help for more complex issues)
CMIO Leaders on Call (for escalated issues)
At any level, a Helpdesk (help.connect-care.ca) call or online request may be required. Helpdesk can facilitate additional assistance for device, network, access, mobility, dictation, and other technology problems.
For more info, visit the Launch Supports section of this Manual (launchhelp.connect-care.ca).
PRE-LAUNCH - Connect Care Implementation Info for CCA Physician Leaders (click to expand/collapse)
POST-LAUNCH - Connect Care Info for CCA Prescribers (click to expand/collapse)
Optimization Training
Optimization training explores workflow improvements that can increase user productivity and satisfaction post-launch. The Chief Medical Information Office (CMIO) has developed a four-tier optimization pathway to foster continuous learning and to best address individual needs.
As Connect Care workflows cross many different specialties (e.g., Admissions, Discharges, clinic visits, note writing, referrals), many of the resources developed will be applicable in the Oncology/Hematology context as well.
For general CMIO prescriber optimization information, see the Optimization Training section of this Manual
For general CMIO prescriber personalization information, see the Personalization Training section of this Manual
For information on how to search the CMIO Clinician Connect Care Manual, see the Finding Topics section of this Manual
Self-directed Optimization for CCA Prescribers
Users reinforce their basic training knowledge through self-directed just-in-time learning using prescriber-friendly resources.
Connect Care Learning Home Dashboard: Click on Dashboard > Open down arrow beside "Beacon Physician Home" > CMIO Learning Home – Oncology
Independent learning (mylearninglink.ahs.ca): Training track options will be listed in My Courses under “Independent Learning”, or search for “Independent” in Courses & Registration
Training track options: Medical Oncology, Radiation Oncology, Hematology/Peds Oncology, and Personalization (General)
Training/practice environments: PLY or PLY2
User names:
Bone Marrow Transplant: BMT##
Hematology and Pediatric Oncology: PEDONC##
Medical Oncology: MEDONC##
Oncology Supplemental: MEDONC##
Radiation Oncology: RADONC##
Password: train
Exercise books
Personalization guides
Oncology-focused Personalization Guide [coming soon]
CMIO videos: Coming soon
Direct Optimization Support for CCA Prescribers
Sessions organized through a clinical department in partnership with the CMIO training team.
Targeted optimization sessions facilitated by Medical Informatics Leads (MILs) or CMIO training team members
Class delivery (virtual or in-person), organized by a user group (e.g., tumor group) or clinical department
Deployment of CMIO Educators to Zone sites
Scheduled sessions
Scheduled optimization sessions: A series of Lunch and Learn sessions for Fall 2023 will run on Fridays from September 15 to October 13. For more information including meeting invites, topics, and links to relevant resources, see the poster.
Scheduled personalization sessions: Virtual, sign up required [link coming soon]
Requests for departmental optimization
To request a specific optimization session for your group, please submit a non-urgent ticket via Epic (submit a ticket or call 1-877-311-4300), with the following information:
Ticket title: CMIO request for optimization
Include in ticket description:
Name/contact
Number of people
Topic(s) of choice
Possible dates/times
Additional Resources (click to expand/collapse)
For more information about Connect Care, see other sections of this Manual, as well as the following resources:
Connect Care Bytes Blog (for updates, news, and launch support)
Resource: General Connect Care Information for Cancer Care Alberta
Questions: cmio.cca@ahs.ca