As more sites and departments across the province become live on Connect Care, more locum prescribers will need to prepare for working at a Connect Care site. This section provides essential information for locum prescribers prior to, while, and after working at a Connect Care site.
Prescribers who are planning to work at a site that has already launched or will be launching Connect Care will need to gain access and be trained prior to working. While there is no reimbursement for time spent learning how to use the Connect Care system, Continuing Medical Education (CME) credits can be claimed with the Canadian College of Family Physicians or the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada for completed instructor-led or independent learning Connect Care courses.
Locum physicians must follow the steps listed below to get Connect Care access. These steps should be completed at least 4 weeks prior to the start of the locum to ensure training and privileges are set up in time.
Request Connect Care training by emailing their Zone Medical Affairs office (include: subject AMA Locum Connect Care Training Request, first and last name, and CPSA number). If a prescriber already has privileges at a site that is in scope for an upcoming Connect Care launch, that individual will automatically receive a Connect Care training invitation and therefore does not need to email Medical Affairs.
Calgary Zone: CAL.MedicalStaffOffice@ahs.ca
Central Zone: CZMAprivileging@ahs.ca
Edmonton Zone: Edm.MedicalAffairs@ahs.ca
North Zone: NZ.Privileging@ahs.ca
South Zone: SZ.MedicalAffairs@ahs.ca
Alberta Precision Laboratories: APL.MedicalAffairs@albertaprecisionlabs.ca
The prescriber will receive an responding email with information about how to register for the following training requirements:
AHS privacy training - On Our Best Behaviours (OOBB)
Connect Care Basic Training course (time commitment: 5-8 hours)
End-User Proficiency Assessment (EUPA) (time commitment: 20-30 minutes)
Connect Care Personalization course (time commitment: 3-4 hours)
Login Lab (time commitment: 20-30 minutes)
For locum nurse practitioners (NPs), contact Provincial NP Services (Prov.NPServices@ahs.ca).
Prescribers need to log in to Connect Care a minimum of once every 180 days to keep their account active. It is important to confirm that one's account is active prior to the start of your shifts, as account reactivation can take a few days (potentially longer over weekends and holidays).
If a prescriber has trained early but does not pick up a working shift at a Connect Care site for some time, learnings can always be reinforced by practicing with training workbooks and reviewing Independent Learning courses on MyLearningLink.
There will be physician and Nurse Practitioner (NP) “Super Users” available to provide support to physicians and NPs during the initial 6 weeks after a Connect Care launch. However, Super Users may not always be available (particularly if the locum occurs at a site over 6 weeks post-launch), so it is important to prepare thoroughly by attending an instructor-led Basic training course, practicing more with the training workbook provided at the end of the course, and attending a Personalization course.
Note: Although there is an Independent Learning (non-instructor-led) course available, this is not recommended for learning Connect Care for the first time. The independent modules are for users who have had prior Connect Care experience. First time Connect Care learners are recommended to attend an instructor-led course.
Locum prescribers will need to determine with their clinical site how results and messages will be routed and followed-up; this is a mutual responsibility between the locum prescriber and site leadership. Results (e.g., labs and diagnostic imaging) and messages (e.g., consult letters), by default, will enter the locum prescriber’s “In Basket” in the Connect Care system for review and management.
After finishing a locum, In Basket should be reviewed intermittently to ensure important results and messages are managed and not missed. With having a “live” In Basket, some messages will route to In Basket, when they previously were delivered by fax or mail. Please refer to the Mixed Provider Contexts section of this Manual for strategies on how to navigate receiving messages from mixed contexts (e.g., Connect Care In Basket and fax or mail).
Attestation or a contract clause is needed to determine whether labs ordered in ED will be managed in a post-discharge pool or whether they remain the responsibility of the locum, as there is variability between Connect Care sites at present.
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)
