HealthONE Planned Maintenance Sunday, July 15

July 9, 2018

The reason for the maintenance:

Planned maintenance for the HealthONE system involves the following:

  • Special Updates (SUs) to our production and training environments by Epic datacenter staff.
  • Network switch upgrade by UConn IT. Switches allow different devices on a network to communicate.

The date and time of the maintenance:

  • HealthONE Maintenance, Sunday 7/15/2018, 1:00 a.m. through 5:00 a.m.

Services that will be down:

We are expecting services to be down during this maintenance window. HealthONE will be in read-only mode (SRO) from 1:00 to 5:00 a.m. on Sunday, July 15.

Users logged into the system will receive a message that a planned downtime is occurring within 15 minutes of the scheduled maintenance. The same message will reappear 5 mins prior to the start of the maintenance window. Users should save their work and logout of the environment.  If users do not log out before the start of the maintenance, they will risk losing any unsaved information.

After 1:00 a.m., your HealthONE desktop icon will provide SRO access. Follow your department’s published downtime procedures.

During this time, the UConn Network Team will reboot the network switches floor by floor, which may cause brief SRO interruption as well as interruptions to all network based applications.  Expect an approximately 15-minute outage per floor.

One notable limitation of the SRO environment is that In Basket is not available. Please use phone or pager for time-sensitive situations, such as a critical result or an urgent consult request.

What will be done then:

Epic datacenter staff will install July updates and UConn Network Team will upgrade network switches concurrently. Once tested by Epic staff it will be turned over to UConn HealthONE IT for validation.

If everything goes as planned:

Once UConn validation is complete users logged into HealthONE will receive notification to log back out of HealthONE (read-only-mode environment) and immediately log back in. This will redirect all users back onto the HealthONE Production environment.

What we need you to do:

Please post in your areas to notify your staff of this maintenance window.

As with any scheduled maintenance activities, we would want all areas to review their downtime procedures with their staff.

Where to go for updates:

Please call the Help Desk at x4400 option #1 with any additional issues experienced during this outage window.

More Dragon Training Available

June 28, 2018

Please see the latest on additional Dragon dictation training opportunities:

  • Dragon 301 – Provider Optimization Sessions: UConn IT and Nuance Dragon support have teamed up to bring two additional training weeks to UConn Health providers. If you’re feeling ready for next steps, optimization training will be held July 10 through July 13 and July 23 through July 27, five times per day for ATE training. This one-hour session is scheduled at your office, workspace or clinic to optimize the integration of HealthONE, reducing the number of clicks needed for your workflow. If you would like to signup, contact Bert Romeo at extension 8054 to schedule your one-on-one session.
  • Incoming Residents & Fellows Dragon e-Learning: All incoming residents and fellows have been provided Health Stream access to Dragon e-Learning. If you are a resident or fellow and would like to use Dragon, please refer to your Health Stream assignments.
  • Did You Miss out on Dragon Training Last Month? If you are a provider and didn’t have an opportunity to be initially trained on Dragon dictation, and wish to do so, contact Bert Romeo at extension 8054 to be scheduled for in-classroom training at the Academic Library. At this time, we do not have regularly scheduled training but accommodations can be made that will work with your schedule.
  • Emergency Medicine Department-Wide Workflow Optimization: And finally, a team of HealthONE ASAP providers, Epic Analysts and Dragon support team members are currently building integrated workflow optimizations for the Department of Emergency Medicine. If you are a technologically savvy provider and wish to take on the lead role for your department, contact Bert Romeo at extension 8054. Once the ED workflow is complete, we will schedule your department to be next in line for this time-saving workshop.

HealthONE: Celebrating Early Success

CIO Bruce Metz gets ready to kick off a celebration of go-live the morning of April 28. (HealthONE file photo)

UConn Health is now two months into a patient care transformation centered around an integrated electronic health record. As expected, it has been an adjustment period, but with the challenges come a number of success stories and early wins for the UConn Health community, including both providers and patients.

“We are in the early stages of our HealthONE journey,” says UConn Health Chief Information Officer Bruce Metz. “Go-live was only the beginning. We are starting to see some progress and benefits to patient care and efficiency that bode well for the future. The key is to stay on track by continuing to learn and refine HealthONE in order to realize all the capabilities it has to offer. Embracing the change with patience and foresight makes all the difference. It’s important to remember this is a marathon, not a sprint.”

Here are some early reviews:

“I used to spend four hours writing notes. Now I only spend one hour writing notes.”
—Dr. Neha Jain, psychiatrist

“HealthONE is WAY better than Nextgen for doing orders/charts for the doctor. Takes me a quarter of the time to chart. Vast improvement!”
—Dr. Craig Rodner, orthopedic surgeon

“As an OR nurse, I love blood. With HealthONE, ordering blood is fast and easy! No more filling out lab slips, faxing and hoping that the fax made it to the blood bank. This is a huge improvement over our legacy system.”
—Ellen Benson, OR nurse manager

Staff and leadership from the Outpatient Pavilion shortly after activation. (HealthONE file photo)

“Really happy about ‘No more writing and no more paper’ in the Phlebotomy Team Department! All work is accounted for individually.”
—Aretha Floyd, inpatient phlebotomist

“One of my studies requires an extra blood sample with the early morning labs and with the use of the ‘Treatment Team Sticky Note’ on the patient’s chart, this sample was obtained easily. This process would not have been as seamless without our new EHR.”
—Sharon DiMauro, clinical research coordinator

“It’s been great, especially for billing. We’re able to capture so much more now.”
—Dr. Heiko Schmitt, cardiologist

“Prior to go-live, it was not uncommon to have three or four different programs open in order to provide proper care to patients. Now only one is required. HealthONE has vastly improved patient continuity of care and efficiency of documentation.”
—Dr. Ben Ristau, urologic oncologist

“One of my principal orders trainers shared that a surgery resident recently commented that he was ‘pleased with the technology leap forward’ that UConn has taken. As a resident that has previous rotations at UConn prior to HealthONE implementation, he notes the application is a great improvement.”
—Liz Zibell, HealthONE clinical applications director

Shout It Out

From left, nurse Gina Barlow and infection prevention specialist Rachel Crosby discussing a patient on the 5th floor of University Tower. (Kristin Wallace/UConn Health)

Sometimes you just want to send a quick shout-out to a colleague who has done something nice or been especially helpful. That happened recently to Rachel Crosby, infection prevention specialist. A patient on the 5th floor was not following best practices when

Shout-Out mailboxes can be found in the patient elevator alcoves in the University and Connecticut Towers. (Kristin Wallace/UConn Health)

taking care of his catheter at home. His resistance was putting him at greater risk of infection. Rachel talked with his nurse, Gina Barlow, to see what she could do.

“Gina did a great job talking with him,” said Rachel.  “She was persistent in explaining what he needed to do and he finally agreed. I thought she deserved special recognition for most likely helping to prevent an infection.”

Rachel gave Gina a “Shout-Out” – by simply filling out a card and dropping it in the nearest “Staff Shout-Out” mailbox.

The Exemplary Practice/Clinical Excellence Shared Governance Committee came up with the idea which is working to improve engagement and workplace satisfaction.

“We know there are other awards, such as WOW and PAWS awards for when someone goes above and beyond, but the little things that we do for one another each day should also be recognized,” says Michelle DeLayo, Interim Director of Quality.  “For instance, coming up to a unit for a transferring patient (instead of waiting for that patient to come to you) because that unit is super busy, or just providing a shoulder for another who is having a tough day.”

The shout-outs are tallied every month and the person on each unit with the most shout-outs will receive a gift card presented at the monthly staff meeting. Shout-outs provided from another unit are worth double. The mailboxes are located on the interior walls of the patient elevator alcoves in the University and Connecticut Towers on all floors that have inpatient units. There are also mailboxes for the OB/Labor and Delivery, GI, OR/PACU, Cardio-pulmonary (2nd floor Connecticut Tower) and Radiology areas.

HealthONE Service Advisory–Resolved: Mobile App Connectivity

June 19, 2018

Click image for full instructions.

[Updated 3:15 p.m. June 19]

We had a considerable down time involving the use of our Haiku, Canto and Rover applications.  This has been fixed and all are operational at this time.  Should you have a device that is not reconnecting, please use the instructions on the attached document.

If that process does not restart your device and you are not back on line, please call 4400, option 1 and identify your device which is effected by the mobile outage.  Please provide a call back number for the mobile support team to contact the user to assist.

Thank you for your patience and understanding!

HealthONE Service Advisory: Missing Zeroes

[As of 11:15 a.m. June 19]

Following is an advisory from Surescripts:

Date: June 18, 2018

Title: Notification of Potential Patient Safety Issue (PPSI) – Missing leading zero (aka, “Naked decimal”) in some Medication History response messages

Details: Surescripts recently determined that some Medication History response messages provided by certain pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) and pharmacies may be missing leading zeroes in front of decimals in the Drug Description or Drug Strength field which could result in misinterpretation.

For example, instead of:

<DrugDescription>ANAGRELIDE HYDROCHLORIDE 0.5 MG CAPS</DrugDescription>,

it is transmitted as:

<DrugDescription>ANAGRELIDE HYDROCHLORIDE .5 MG CAPS</DrugDescription>.

As noted in our Medication History for Ambulatory Implementation Guide 10.6 (for PBMs) and Medication History Load for Pharmacies Implementation Guide v6.2, and supported by specific recommendations from the Institute for Safe Medication Practices (ISMP) and the Joint Commission, Medication History responses should always include a leading zero in front of a decimal for values less than 1 and greater than 0.

Surescripts conducted an analysis of sample data in 2018 and determined this issue is occurring in the Drug Description field of approximately 1.45% of Medication History response messages. This issue may also be occurring in the following fields:

  • Directions
  • Quantity
  • DrugCoded
  • Strength
  • Diagnosis Code

There have been no reported cases of patient harm due to this issue, although due to the risk of an end-user not seeing a decimal point, and the potential for inaccurate doses to be transmitted as a result, this issue represents a Potential Patient Safety Issue (PPSI).

Surescripts is working with the data sources involved to resolve the issue as quickly as possible. We will provide an update on the fix as soon as it is available.

Meantime, please direct questions to x4400, Option 1.

UConn Health July 2018 Programs, Events

June 18, 2018

Here is a list of UConn Health programs scheduled for July and early August 2018. This information will be updated with any additions or other schedule changes. (Updated 7/19)

(Deleted 7/17–on hiatus until September)
Living Well With Epilepsy: A Support Group for Young Adults
Saturday, July 7, noon to 1:30 p.m., UConn Health Outpatient Pavilion, 2nd floor large conference room S2010
The Epilepsy Foundation of Connecticut, in partnership with the UConn Health Department of Neurology, offers a support group for young adults who live with epilepsy. This group is open to those aged 18 to 30 who would like to join others to share experience, gain peer support, and learn together about epilepsy and overcoming its challenges to live well. The group generally meets on the first Saturday of the month. Please call 860-346-1924 or email manzelone.efct@sbcglobal.net for more information.

Bladder Cancer Support Group
Saturday, July 7, 2 to 3 p.m., UConn Health, Onyiuke Dining Room
Patients, family members and caregivers (not limited to UConn Health patients) are invited to join others whose lives have been touched by bladder cancer. This support group, established in partnership with the Bladder Cancer Advocacy Network, usually meets on the first Saturday of the month and is the only group of its kind in New England. Call 888-901-BCAN for more information.

Breastfeeding Class
Wednesday, July 11, 6 to 8 p.m., UConn Health Outpatient Pavilion, 3rd floor large conference room S3301
A certified lactation consultant leads a discussion of topics including the benefits of breastfeeding, how to get started, and how the rest of the family can help the breastfeeding mother as well as how to continue breastfeeding and working. Fee is $25 per couple. Call 800-535-6232 to register or for more information.

Breast Cancer Support Group
Thursday, July 19, 7 to 8 p.m., UConn Health, Onyiuke Dining Room
This is a support group intended for women under the age of 45 who’ve been diagnosed with non-metastatic breast cancer. Women at any point in their cancer survivorship journey are welcome. Meetings are the third Thursday of the month. To register or more information, call 860-679-7820 or email tillinghast@uchc.edu.

Infertility Peer Support Group
Thursday, July 19, 7 to 8:30 p.m., Center for Advanced Reproductive Services, 2 Batterson Park Road, Farmington.
The Greater Hartford chapter of RESOLVE, a national nonprofit resource for those facing the challenges of infertility, offers support, information and confidential, informal, peer-led discussions on the third Thursday of the month. To learn more or to check for weather-related cancellation, call 860-523-8337.

Stroke Survivor Group
Wednesday, July 25, noon to 1 p.m., UConn Health Outpatient Pavilion, 3rd floor
The UConn Health Stroke Center invites stroke survivors, families and caregivers to a monthly group meeting to discuss topics such as prevention, coping methods, support systems, rehabilitation tips, resources, and promoting independence. The Stroke Survivor Group generally meets on the fourth Wednesday of the month. Call 860-679-4846 for more information.

(Added 7/29)
Whalers Alumni Weekend
Friday, July 27, 7:05 p.m. and Saturday, July 28, 6:05 p.m., Dunkin Donuts Park, Hartford
UConn Health is sponsoring Hartford Yard Goats Whalers Alumni Weekend. Tickets are $10, buy one get one free, and are available at the UConn Health Auxiliary gift shops. The Auxiliary also is holding a drawing for pair of tickets and a page of Whalers autographs Thursday, July 26, at 3 p.m. in the University Tower gift shop. Call 860.679.2963 for more information.

Free Hospital Maternity Tours
Saturday, July 28, 2 p.m., UConn Health, University Tower lobby
A representative will guide you through labor and delivery, postpartum, and the nursery at the UConn John Dempsey Hospital. Children and grandparents are welcome. Call 800-535-6232 to register or for more information.

Free Workshop: “Things to Consider Before Joining a Research Study”
Monday, July 30, 5 p.m., UConn Health, Onyiuke Dining Room
The UConn Health Human Subjects Protection Office offers an educational session about the rights and responsibilities of participants in research projects on the last Monday of the month. Registration is required: 860-679-8802 or cagganello@uchc.edu.

(Deleted 7/17–on hiatus until September)
Living Well With Epilepsy: A Support Group for Young Adults
Saturday, Aug. 4, noon to 1:30 p.m., UConn Health Outpatient Pavilion, 2nd floor large conference room S2010
The Epilepsy Foundation of Connecticut, in partnership with the UConn Health Department of Neurology, offers a support group for young adults who live with epilepsy. This group is open to those aged 18 to 30 who would like to join others to share experience, gain peer support, and learn together about epilepsy and overcoming its challenges to live well. The group generally meets on the first Saturday of the month. Please call 860-346-1924 or email manzelone.efct@sbcglobal.net for more information.

Bladder Cancer Support Group
Saturday, Aug. 4, 2 to 3 p.m., UConn Health, Onyiuke Dining Room
Patients, family members and caregivers (not limited to UConn Health patients) are invited to join others whose lives have been touched by bladder cancer. This support group, established in partnership with the Bladder Cancer Advocacy Network, usually meets on the first Saturday of the month and is the only group of its kind in New England. Call 888-901-BCAN for more information.

Breastfeeding Class
Thursday, Aug. 8, 6 to 8 p.m., UConn Health Outpatient Pavilion, 3rd floor large conference room S3301
A certified lactation consultant leads a discussion of topics including the benefits of breastfeeding, how to get started, and how the rest of the family can help the breastfeeding mother as well as how to continue breastfeeding and working. Fee is $25 per couple. Call 800-535-6232 to register or for more information.

Free Hospital Maternity Tours
Saturday, Aug. 11, 2 p.m., UConn Health, University Tower lobby
A representative will guide you through labor and delivery, postpartum, and the nursery at the UConn John Dempsey Hospital. Children and grandparents are welcome. Call 800-535-6232 to register or for more information.

Free Cosmetology Services for Cancer Survivors
Monday, Aug. 13, 1 to 3 p.m., UConn Health Outpatient Pavilion, 4th floor
“Look Good…Feel Better” is a free program to help improve the self-image and self-esteem of women experiencing appearance-related side effects from cancer treatment. During this hands-on workshop, a trained volunteer certified cosmetologist will teach women how to cope with skin changes and hair loss using cosmetic and skin care products donated by the cosmetic industry. Classes are offered every other month and are not limited to UConn Health patients. Please call 860-679-7820 to register (required).

Childbirth Preparation Class
Wednesday, Aug. 15, 6 to 10 p.m., UConn Health Outpatient Pavilion, 3rd floor large conference room S3301
This one-day class covers anatomy and physiology of pregnancy and labor, emotions of pregnancy, nutrition, fetal growth and development, comfort measures for labor, working with unexpected events in labor, cesarean delivery, and practice of relaxation and breathing techniques for labor. Class size is limited to eight couples. Remember to bring two pillows and wear comfortable clothing. Light snack is provided. Fee is $100. Call 800-535-6232 or 860-679-7692 to register or for more information.

Living With Heart Disease Meeting
Thursday, Aug. 16, 11 a.m. to noon, UConn Health, University Tower, 2nd floor conference room
Men and women affected by heart disease meet on the third Thursday of every other month to discuss post-diagnosis topics such as prevention and wellness, social and emotional support, heart-healthy recipes, coping strategies and resources. Significant others and caregivers are also welcome to attend. Please call Sue at 860-679-3633 for more information.

Directions to UConn Health are available at health.uconn.edu/locations.