Issue 5 | Spring 2023
With spring on its way, the HITS eHealth Office is happy to provide lots of fresh information about the digital health solutions it either operates and/or supports for healthcare providers and patients in Ontario Health's West Region. If you have any questions about our work, you’re welcome to email us at info@HITSeHealth.ca, call us at 905-577-8270, or check out our website to see how we can support your use of digital health tools: https://HITSeHealth.ca
Helping Healthcare Providers Deliver Care More Efficiently
Latest news:
Having entered a new fiscal year, we are pleased to continue offering support to healthcare organizations across the Ontario Health West Region that are interested in gaining access to ClinicalConnect, including to data from provincially-managed repositories. Did you know that between April 1, 2022 and March 31, 2023, our team helped 288 organizations onboard as Participants in ClinicalConnect and/or gain access to provincial repositories using the portal? Of these, 125 were pharmacies, where ClinicalConnect should prove very useful particularly as this sector is now able to offer prescriptions for 13 common ailments in Ontario.

If your healthcare organization is located in Ontario Health West Region but isn't yet using ClinicalConnect, feel free to contact us by email at info@HITSeHealth.ca, or visit our website to learn more about ClinicalConnect and our service offering to help get digital health tools working for you!

Helping Patients Empower
Their Health Journey
This winter saw many advances towards patients gaining secure, online access to their health records from participating hospitals located in Ontario Health West Region. While the predecessor solution (Sunnybrook's MyChart patient portal) can no longer be used to view health records from hospitals in this Region, it can still be used by patients to view self-entered data and records from participating hospitals that are located in other parts of Ontario. The replacement solution for Ontario Health West Region called ConnectMyHealth is available for registration by patients age 16 or older. If you're interested in learning more about ConnectMyHealth, including how to register for an account, visit https://info.connectmyhealth.ca.

In addition, effective March 30, 2023, the 'release delays' that had been applied to some types of health records in ConnectMyHealth were removed, meaning data is now viewable in real-time.

The HITS eHealth Office continues to work with the remaining hospitals in Ontario Health West Region so their data can also be viewed using ConnectMyHealth, and the Data Availability web page of the ConnectMyHealth information website provides the most up-to-date information on participating hospitals and data contribution.

Improving Access to
Specialist Advice
eConsult is a free, secure web-based tool that allows physicians or nurse practitioners timely access to specialist advice and often eliminates the need for an in-person specialist visit. Of all the eConsults sent, only about a third result in patients needing to see a specialist face-to-face. In Ontario, there are 4,000+ active primary care providers and 1,000+ active specialists using eConsult today! With over 120 specialties and sub-specialties available province-wide, learn how you can get started with eConsult by contacting us at eConsult@HITSeHealth.ca.  

Latest news:

1.      HRM® Integration for OTNhub: Say goodbye to having to download/upload your completed eConsult case details to your EMR! Those with Health Report Manager (HRM) access can now export completed eConsult case details into a single PDF report, for viewing within your OMD-certified EMR. Click here to learn more!
2.      Send an eConsult Directly From Your EMR via Ocean: Clinicians can also leverage their integrated EMR (TELUS PS Suite, OSCAR, or Accuro) to send an eConsult, through Ocean, using the same referral process used to submit Ocean eReferrals. Learn how to submit an eConsult through Ocean here.
3.      The eConsult Centre of Excellence has recently published the following studies:
a.      Development of eConsult reflective learning tools for healthcare providers: a pragmatic mixed methods approach. Learn more.
b.      The effect of eConsult on the provision of orthopaedic services in Nunavut. Learn more.

Our team is here to support you! If you or your staff would like a refresher on submitting an eConsult or navigating the tool, please contact us at: eConsult@HITSeHealth.ca

Tips & Tricks: It's As Easy as 1-2-3!
If you already have, or are thinking of getting a ConnectMyHealth patient portal account, did you know that certain types of results from select participating hospitals may be 'flagged' as new? The purpose of these 'new results badges' is to draw your attention to results that have been added to your record in the last 30 days, that you haven't yet viewed in ConnectMyHealth. New Results that may be flagged can include various labs, reports and images.

Once you log into the portal, a landing page dedicated to your 'new results' displays first. If you have had tests or procedures recently whose results are new within the last 30 days that you haven't seen yet, you can often find them on this page for quick and easy viewing. If you don't have 'new results', you'll simply see "No New Results Found", but you can still access your health records/results that aren't necessarily 'new' in the modules/sections listed under "My Record".

Similarly, the modules/sections that support ConnectMyHealth's new results flagging functionality have a coloured indicator (circle) at the end of each module name - see the image (that contains test data) below for a sample. If you have 'new results', a number other than '0' will display; if you don't have any 'new results', the coloured circle will say '0', but any other past results are still viewable by clicking into the module.

For complete details on how new results are flagged to help you access them quickly, please be sure to access the "Help" resources available within ConnectMyHealth.
Meet Our Team
Name: John Leung
Role: eHealth Services Coordinator

John joined the HITS eHealth team a year ago as an eHealth Services Coordinator. In his role, John supports the day-to-day operations of ClinicalConnect and ConnectMyHealth through auditing, account creation, and providing technical support. His favourite part about the job is how each day is different and brings new challenges and opportunities, because it allows him to use his critical thinking and problem-solving skills. He is proud to be part of a team that supports the implementation and adoption of digital health solutions among healthcare providers and patients in south west Ontario.

Outside of work, John enjoys travelling, going to the beach, playing sports, and running. John is very excited about his upcoming trip to Indonesia and Japan, as well as training for a marathon. He is also an avid sports fan, and supporter of the Maple Leafs, Raptors, Blue Jays, and Pittsburgh Steelers.
The views expressed are those of the HITS eHealth Office at Hamilton Health Sciences and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Government of Ontario or any of its personnel or entities, including Ontario Health.