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For Android Users
Android Devices Must Be on Version 11

Android devices enrolled in Microsoft Intune Company Portal must be on Version 11, the latest operating system. If you're not updated to Version 11, you won't have access to Houston Methodist resources, including email, through your Android device. Updating your device ensures we’re meeting security requirements and keeps HM safe.

How do I update my device?
Go to your Settings and tap System, Advanced, System update. Your device will check for updates and you’ll be prompted to download files.    

For Everyone
Have You Joined a Tech Training Session Yet?

Or click to listen to these prerecorded Tech Tuesdays sessions. When they open click the Watch on the web instead button:

• Teams 100 – Introductory
• Teams 200 – Advanced
• Forms & Planner
• OneNote
• Excel
• SharePoint 

Monthly Microsoft Teams Champions
Join the monthly group of Houston Methodist Teams Champions. These sessions give you an inside look at Teams and updates on the horizon. Join us the first Wednesday of every month. With management approval, join Teams Champions here. No experience necessary.

For All Outpatient Physicians
Epic Hosts Efficiency Hour Sessions
Starting Wednesday, April 14

Epic is hosting four training sessions to help you become more effective and efficient using Epic when caring for your patients. The four sessions cover different topics and provide a live demo of tools and tips, as well as a moderated chat where you can ask questions and get clarification from Epic physician efficiency experts.

Each session is an hour and is offered three times, 4 p.m., 5:30 p.m. and 7 p.m. on the dates below.

• Wednesday, April 14: Placing and Managing Outpatient Orders
• Thursday, April 15: Documentation
• Wednesday, April 21: Reviewing Information and General Navigation
• Thursday, April 22: Managing the In Basket

When you register, you’ll receive a calendar invitation. Click here to register.

Security Matters

For Everyone
March Phishing Drill Shows Room for Improvement

HM conducted our seventh consecutive monthly phishing drill as part of ongoing security awareness training. These drills are planned emails that resemble those sent by real cyberattackers. The March phishing drill taught us that we need to be more vigilant when we get emails asking for immediate attention and/or to click on links.

One of our most recent emails appeared to come from Human Resources, but if you looked closely, it was from humanresources@corp-internal.us. The email had two other red flags: 1) the subject line showed that it came from an external source and 2) it asked for your immediate action to acknowledge a Code of Conduct Violation by clicking on a link. Unfortunately, 37% of our employees clicked the link. Had this been a real phishing attack, the results could have been detrimental.

As always, read your emails carefully before clicking any links. Ensure the email is from a trusted source within HM.

As a reminder, if you get a suspicious email, here’s how to report it:

• Desktop/laptop (preferred method): Click Report Phish – PhishAlarm button on the Outlook toolbar.
• Mobile: Tap the three dots by the sender’s name and tap the Report Phish icon.
• Webmail/Office 365: Select the email. In the preview pane, click the three dots. Scroll down and click Report Phish.
• Apps Center: The Report Phish button isn’t available, so forward the email to spamspotting@houstonmethodist.org.

Launch Alerts

For Hospital Scheduling, Front Desk, Registration Staff
New CMS ADT Event Notification Requirement
Starts Monday, April 12

Starting Monday, April 12, patients’ hospital admit, discharge and transfer (ADT) event notifications will be sent to their primary care providers, aligning with the new Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ADT event notifications requirement.

Important

To ensure the patient’s provider accurately receives notification of the hospital admit, discharge or transfer:

• During patient registration, the patient’s primary care provider information must be entered, active and verified.
• You must also complete the Notify PCP on Adm? field within Registration.
• Note: This doesn’t apply to HM SPG/PCG staff.

For more information, review the tip sheet.

For HMH Nurses, PCAs, Mental Health Techs, RTs, ED Phlebotomists and Lab Staff
HMH Specimen Scanning Launches Tuesday, May 4

Specimen Scanning launches at HMH on Tuesday, May 4 for nurses, PCAs, mental health techs, respiratory therapists, ED techs and lab staff. This tool reduces the risk of specimen labeling errors, improving patient safety. Increased accuracy helps reduce lab processing turnaround times, so providers can make patient care decisions sooner than previously possible.

Required training deadline: Friday, April 30

• Required online training has been assigned to impacted nurses, PCAs, mental health techs, respiratory therapists, ED phlebotomists and lab staff (Epic Lab Specimen Collection & Barcode Scanning for Clinical Staff, course #1582031). 
• ​Please complete this LMS training by Friday, April 30.

Road shows

Road shows featuring a live demonstration will take place as outlined below. Stay tuned for more details coming soon.

• Walter Tower: TBD
• Dunn Tower: April 20 – 22
• Main Tower: April 27 – 29
• Alkek/Jones/West Pavilion: April 27 – 29

For more information, visit it.houstonmethodist.org/specimenscanning.

Epic Updates

For All Providers and Clinical Support Staff
Some Health Maintenance Topics Appear Without Overdue Date

When a Health Maintenance topic is overdue with no prior satisfactions, and the topic's post time has passed, the Due Date column now shows Overdue - never done instead of Overdue - since <date>. This is helpful when a patient needs routine or disease-specific preventive care, but the overdue date doesn’t apply. Note: Patients won’t see due/overdue dates in MyChart.

Example: A patient can receive the COVID-19 vaccine on his/her 16th birthday, but it doesn’t make sense to display that a 58-year-old patient has been overdue since that date – the vaccine wasn’t available then.

For Respiratory Therapists
New Rows Added
Effective Now 

To improve documentation accuracy, the following Epic changes have been made:

1.     In the Respiratory Treatments Navigator, when Continuous Nebulizer is documented the charge selections has expanded to include two, three or one subsequent hour.

2.     Start Date/Time, Stop Date/Time and Standby documentation boxes were added to the BiPAP/CPAP and Heated High Flow Nasal Cannula (HHFNC). 

BiPAP/CPAP

HHFNC

For All Epic Users
Priority Status Alerts Available in Secure Chat
Effective Now 

Secure Chat message senders can now set a priority alert to flag specific messages as “important messages” to help recipients easily identify them. Note: This priority status, as with any Secure Chat message, should not be used for urgent patient issues.

Secure Chat is for non-urgent communication related to daily work activities. Inappropriate use can delay essential patient care, leading to patient safety issues.

For more information about Secure Chat, review the flyer or visit the web page.

For Epic CAD200 Registrants and Requestors
CAD200 Template Build Has Prerequisite Courses
Effective Now

To ensure CAD200 Template Build registrants have mastered the materials covered, the following courses are now a prerequisite. You won’t receive Epic access until completing the prerequisites. If you don’t complete the prerequisites, you’ll be dropped from the CAD200 course. 

Prerequisite Courses: 

• PO: CAD 102, CAD 103, CAD 300. Contact epicnewhiretraining@houstonmethodist.org to register. 
• Hospital Outpatient Registration and Scheduling: CAD300, CAD400. Self-register through MARS>LMS. 
• Ambulatory: AMB200 (staff with clinical background). Self-register through MARS>LMS. 

For HMH Case Management and Nursing
New Tool Streamlines Care Coordination Rounds 
Effective Now

To improve Care Coordination Rounds (CCR) and information-sharing between case management and nursing, new navigator and flowsheets allow documentation to flow directly to patient list and summary reports called CCR Overview. When relevant, complete the CCR so data can easily be viewed.  

For more information, view this tip sheet.

Planned Downtimes

For HMW and HMH RI
IT System Maintenance − Keep Your Devices On
HMW: April 12, 9 p.m. – April 13, 2 a.m.
HMH RI: April 13, 5 p.m. – April 14, 4 a.m.

IT system maintenance will take place in two locations next week, HMW on Monday, April 12, 9 p.m. to Tuesday, April 13, 2 a.m. and HMH RI on Tuesday, April 13, 5 p.m. to Wednesday, April 14, 4 a.m. Everyone will lose network connection to all business systems and medical devices for about three minutes during this time frame, but devices should reconnect automatically. If your devices don’t reconnect, please reboot. To prepare, keep your systems and devices turned on and online, and save your work often during your maintenance time frame.

HMW
The wireless interruption includes systems and devices like EKG carts, ultrasounds, portable X-rays, glucometers, WOWs, desktops, laptops, printers, cell phones and other wireless devices but excludes Vocera badges, Rover Zebra smartphones, Cisco wireless phones and any devices connected through HM guest Wi-Fi.

HMH RI
This interruption includes systems and devices like Vocera badges, Zebra smartphones with Rover, pneumatic tubes, air conditioning, MRIs, CTs, laptops, WOWs, desktops, printers and more.

Reminders

You can see previous issues of IT Matters and more at it.houstonmethodist.org.

For Everyone
Updated External Tag on Emails

For HMTW Nurses
Sign Up for IV Pump Classroom Training in LMS
Training Available April 26 to May 28

For All Providers and Nurses
More Options in VTE Risk Tool

For Everyone-Everyone