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For Everyone
COVID-19 Vaccine Consent Form and SchedulingIf you are scheduled to get your COVID-19 vaccine through HM, you will need to access the online consent form in the Employee Health Portal prior to getting your vaccine.
If you are unable to attend your appointment, please take responsibility for canceling and rescheduling it, much like you would do for a doctor’s appointment. Please know that if you show up for a vaccine without an appointment or at the wrong time, you will be asked to return later. To access the form and/or cancel and reschedule an appointment, login to MARS and click the Employee Health Portal tile or click here.
For Everyone
Tech Training SessionsIn December, we launched two new initiatives in partnership with Microsoft – Tech Tuesdays and Microsoft Teams Champions. We are proud to share that our Tech Tuesdays' attendance has broken Microsoft's record for number of people attending their training sessions. Let's keep this going. Join us for more trainings in 2021 - these trainings are open to all employees. Tech Tuesdays – Weekly sessions covering various Microsoft tools
Hosted by Microsoft experts, these continue to be well attended, with over 1,000 participants to date. December’s sessions focused on Microsoft Teams – if you missed it you can listen to a recorded session here. January will bring new topics including a deeper dive into Teams, how to create surveys using Forms, and getting organized with Planner and OneNote. Look for your meeting invitation from itinformationupdate@houstonmethodist.org tomorrow, Dec. 18, or click the links
below when it’s time for the event. Join us for these January sessions: Microsoft Teams Champions – Monthly sessions focusing on Teams
The Microsoft Teams Champions monthly meeting kicked off this month. If you weren’t able to attend, it’s not too late to sign up. These sessions take place on the first Wednesday of the month from noon to 1 p.m. They focus solely on Microsoft Teams tips and tricks, and you can gain early access to new features and a resource library. Share your interest with your supervisor and complete this form to get your personal invitation. The next session will be on Wednesday, Jan. 6 from noon to 1 p.m.
For Everyone
Microsoft Teams Tips
The next time you’re in a Teams meeting you can share your live reaction with everyone in the meeting using an emoji. Choose from a variety of reactions, including applause, laughter or a thumbs-up. To share your emoji, click the top right-hand corner emoji icon and select your reaction from the drop-down box. The screen will show your emoji.
Another Teams feature that can help to make your meeting feel more connected is Together Mode. This puts all attendees in a virtual room together. This only works if you’ve turned on your camera for the meeting. Here’s how to use it: When you’re in a Teams meeting with five or more people, click the ellipses, then click Together Mode and click Change scene (bottom left side) to select from a variety of views, including holiday-themed options. Note: Selecting Change scene will also change the scene for anyone in the meeting that is also in Together Mode.
For Everyone
Watch Out for These Online Scams During the Holiday SeasonThe increase in online shopping gives more opportunity for online criminals to steal your money or information if you’re not careful. Judy Bitterli, McAfee vice president of consumer marketing, reports a 12% annual increase in cybercrimes and over 500 cyberattacks occur each minute. Watch out for these popular scams:
- Fake websites – Some scammers create fake websites and emails that look like legitimate companies. Watch for these red flags.
- As the adage says, if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. Double-check website links to make sure the name is authentic. Tip: Real companies often have their names at the beginning of the URL.
- Check the photo quality. If the images are blurry, this can signal a fake site. Also look for misspellings or a logo that may look a little off.
- If the email or website promotion calls for your urgent action, pause and double-check. This strategy can get you to click quickly without thinking.
- Pet scams – If you’re adopting or buying a pet, be sure it’s from a legitimate adoption center or organization. Pet scams have tripled since last year, as thieves use COVID-19 as an excuse to avoid meeting you in person but take your payment online. Before you send any payment for pets, read online reviews and request a video chat so you can see the seller and pet.
- Don’t use public Wi-Fi – Free Wi-Fi provides an open door for hackers to your online connection, allowing them to access every
piece of information you send, like credit card numbers, email addresses – everything. Only use secure internet connections.
Click here for more tips from NBC News.
For HMW/HMCCH Nurses, PCAs, ED Techs, Paramedics and Respiratory Therapists
HMW/HMCCH Specimen Scanning Launching on Tuesday, Jan. 19
Complete Required Training by Friday, Jan. 15Specimen Scanning launches at HMW/HMCCH on Tuesday, Jan. 19 for nurses, PCAs, ED techs, paramedics and respiratory therapists (except in ORs and Radiology). 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. Specimen scanning is already available at HMSL, HMTW and HMCL. Required training deadline – Friday, Jan. 15 - Required online training has been assigned to impacted nurses, PCAs, ED techs, paramedics and respiratory therapists (Epic Lab Specimen Collection & Barcode Scanning for Clinical Staff, course #1582031).
- Please complete this LMS training by Friday, Jan. 15.
For questions, contact your unit’s super users or the IT Help Desk. For more information, visit it.houstonmethodist.org/specimenscanning.
For All Epic Users
Epic Maintenance for COVID-19 Vaccine
Monday, Dec. 21, 8 – 8:35 p.m.To facilitate updates for the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine, Epic will undergo brief maintenance on Monday, Dec. 21 from 8 to 8:35 p.m. causing some interruptions as outlined below. From 8 to 8:05 p.m.: A brief Epic system "pause" will prevent you from proceeding with workflows or documentation. A pop-up screen will appear while the pause is taking place. When the pop-up disappears, you can resume work without any data loss. - Vitals and data will be stored during the pause and will flow into Epic after the
pause.
- If you attempt to log in Epic during the pause, you’ll be able to enter your user ID and password, but Epic won’t fully open until the pause is complete.
From 8:05 to 8:35 p.m.: The following Epic functionality may experience intermittent disruptions: - Connectivity of Epic mobile apps (Haiku, Canto and Rover) may randomly drop.
- Printing status messages may be slow to report back to you.
- Secure Chat messages will not send until after the maintenance
period.
- Chart Review and documentation, as well as patient vitals, images and data, will NOT be impacted.
If you have any issues, please contact the IT Help Desk.
For All Providers, Pharmacists and Nurses
New Morphine IV Alert
Effective Today Starting today, you’ll receive a new alert for morphine IV orders on ESRD inpatients who’ve had a Dialysis order in the last 72 hours or have ESRD noted on the Problem List. The alert recommends using alternative therapy to reduce the risk for opioid induced respiratory depression. All Providers:
For All Advanced Practice Providers (APPs)
New E-Rx Message for Schedule II Controlled Substances
Effective TodayStarting today, you will see a new Order Validation message when e-prescribing a Schedule II Controlled Substance outside of your prescriptive authority. This will remind you to either change the Order Class to No Print or remove the order from the cart. Note: You will only see this message if you attempt to order a C-II medication for outpatient or inpatient discharge.
Saturday, Dec. 19, 10 p.m. – Sunday, Dec. 20, 5 a.m. LMS will not be available due to maintenance.
Monday, Dec. 21, 8 – 8:35 p.m. To facilitate updates for the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine, Epic will undergo brief maintenance on Monday, Dec. 21 from 8 to 8:35 p.m. causing some interruptions as outlined in the Epic Updates section above.
Tuesday, Dec. 22, 10 p.m. – midnight Be prepared for intermittent or no access. Follow your department’s standard downtime procedures.
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