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For Everyone
HM in Top 2% of COVID-19 Vaccines Documented in Epic

HM is in the top 2% and #1 in Texas of all Epic customers documenting and tracking COVID-19 vaccine administrations. We anticipate we’ll surpass 1 million COVID-19 vaccines before the end of the year.

"This milestone is possible because of the partnership and camaraderie across all our teams, said LeTesha Montgomery, RN, MHA, FACHE vice president operations and patient access, Houston Methodist SPG/PCG. “Through every challenge, and despite competing priorities, we continued to pull through. Today we lead the nation in the fight against COVID-19 with our vaccine efforts. A sincere thank you to all."

For Everyone
Customer Satisfaction Survey – IT Service Desk
We Care About Your Experience

After you submit a ticket and it has been resolved, you will receive a survey from the IT Service Desk. This is part of IT’s ongoing commitment to support you. The email will come from itsupport@houstonmethodist.org. Please take a moment to share your feedback. We care about your experience, and your response helps us better support you.  

For Everyone
VPN Access No Longer Requires VP Approval
Effective Now

The process for requesting VPN access no longer requires VP approval. Hiring managers or their delegates can now approve the request using the appropriate IT System Access Request form. As a reminder, updated forms are on our HM intranet site and the links are below. Please don’t save the forms to your computer. Instead use the links, ensuring you're using the most recent version.

• Employee form (hiring managers or delegates complete and sign).
• Vendor/Contractor form (vendor/contractor and manager sign).
• Physician form (for physicians, physician office staff and Allied Health Professionals).

Launch Alerts

For SPG/PCG HIM Departments
Solarity Fax and Scanning Automation Launch: Monday, Dec. 6

The Solarity automated faxing and scanning system is launching Monday, Dec. 6 for identified SPG/PCG Departments. The new system will improve patient safety by making incoming patient information available in Epic sooner and it improves indexing accuracy.

For more information, click here. 

Epic Updates

For Epic Registration Staff
Guarantor’s Patient Field Mismatch
Formerly Associated Patient Field - Updated Tip Sheet

If the Guarantor and the Guarantor’s Patient’s Demographic information (name, SSN, DOB and sex) aren’t the same, a warning message will display on the guarantor verification record of the registration checklist. Incorrect information entered in the Guarantor’s Patient field could cause patients not responsible for the guarantor to view the guarantor’s information in MyChart. The information should be corrected to complete guarantor verification.

View this updated tip sheet for more information. 

For Inpatient, Cardiology Invasive, ED, Infusion, OB and PeriOp Nurses
Informed Consent Required for Transfusion Orders
Effective Monday, Dec. 6

Effective Monday, Dec. 6, documented patient consent is required prior to releasing and printing the transfusion order and picking up blood from the Blood Bank. This change is being made to ensure patients, or their caregivers, are aware of the procedure before it takes place.

A pop-up message will appear if order release is attempted before informed consent is obtained and documented.

For all hospital-based nurses (except ED), document consent in the Blood & Transfusions flowsheet.

For ED nurses, document consent in the ED Narrator.

For Inpatient Providers, Chaplains and Social Workers
New Epic Inpatient DNR Witness Signature Process

Witnesses who observe a patient’s verbal consent to an inpatient Do Not Resuscitate (DNR) order are no longer required to sign the Acknowledgement and Consent for
Do-Not-Resuscitate Order and Modified Codes form or any other documentation. This also applies to Modified DNR codes.

• Two witnesses must still observe the patient's verbal consent to the DNR order.
• The physician issuing the DNR order must type the two witnesses’ names in the Epic inpatient DNR order set.

• The Witnesses Signature form link will no longer display.

Provider News

For All Providers
Intermittent Haiku/Canto Issues

We’re currently experiencing intermittent Haiku/Canto issues. We’re working with our vendors to resolve this issue, and we’ll keep you updated on our progress.

If you have issues, contact the IT Service Desk, and let us know the version of your device.

For All Providers
Physician Connect and Provider Site

Click below for the November issue of Physician Connect or visit it.houstonmethodist.org/physicians for updates and tools. 

For All Ordering Medical Staff
Troponin T [LAB6032] Replaces Troponin [LAB747]
Effective 10 a.m. Wednesday, Nov. 17

At 10 a.m. Wednesday, Nov. 17, HM laboratories will change from our current Troponin I test to a high-sensitivity Troponin T test. This change is required due to the withdrawal from the market of Troponin I tests by Siemens, its manufacturer.

The new Roche Troponin T test was the first FDA-approved high-sensitivity-troponin method and there is abundant literature on the clinical performance of high sensitivity troponin assays. High sensitivity troponin assays are considered the standard of care by chest pain center accrediting agencies.

Note: Troponin T results will be reported in units of ng/L, instead of the current units for Troponin I, which are ng/mL. (ng/L = 1000 X ng/mL).

HM Emergency Care Centers will continue using the Troponin, I-STAT [POC164] test on iSTAT instruments.

For questions contact Dr. Roger Bertholf, medical director of clinical chemistry (713.441.3294 or rlbertholf@houstonmethodist.org) or Dr. David Bernard, medical director of clinical pathology (713.441.2985 or dwbernard@houstonmethodist.org).

For All Providers
New BPA: Chronic Liver Disease Patients
Effective Thursday, Nov. 18

Starting Thursday, Nov. 18, a new BPA will display for chronic liver disease patients with a model for end stage liver disease (MELD) score of 26 or higher. This alert will prompt you to place the Referral to Transplant order set with the referral order. If you’re not placing a referral order, you can select an Acknowledge Reason (Referral not needed or I am not the appropriate provider) or Dismiss the alert without selecting a reason.

For All Providers
Leave Dictation Workstations On
7 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 30 through Thursday, Dec. 2

Dragon Medical One (DMO) will be upgraded on Wednesday, Dec. 8, requiring Nuance extensions to be installed after hours. To prepare, leave your dictation workstations on starting at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 30 through Thursday morning, Dec. 2.

• When you see this pop-up message, click OK to install.

• If you’re working in Epic when you click OK, you’ll receive the message below. This will allow you to save your work and close the program before the installation begins.

For All Providers
Dragon Medical One Upgrade
Wednesday, Dec. 8

On Dec. 8, Dragon Medical One (DMO) will be upgraded to the latest version 2021.1.1. This version will repair glitches and provide you with a new feature.

• Stability/bug fixes:
  • Fewer network drops and delays.
  • Resolved issue with DMO becoming unresponsive during Epic dictation.
  • Better handling of session disconnects during recording.
  • Resolved issue with DMO memory leaks, causing Epic and DMO to freeze or crash is resolved.
• New feature: You can now switch to another microphone.
  • Switch microphone source from the DragonBar menu without logging off.
  • Go to DragonBar menu (flame).
  • To select or change the microphone source, choose Microphone (PowerMicIII-NS) or Nuance PowerMic Mobile.

Use Dragon Medical One voice-to-text application to enjoy instant transcription both on and off the HM network. Visit the Dragon Resources page for more information.

Planned Downtimes or Maintenances

If you experience issues during a planned maintenance, including missing computer icons or shared drives, please be patient and restart your computer. To ensure minimal impact, save your work often, before and during any planned maintenance.

Reminders

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

For Everyone
Updated IT System Access Request Forms and New Process for Employees

For Everyone
COVID-19 Lab and Vaccine Record Sharing Through MyChart

For iPhone or iPad Users
Scanning Documents? Try Notes App on Your Phone

For Everyone
Did You Get Caught or Did You Report It?  
October Phishing Drills

For HMH Nurses including ED/ECCs
IV Pump Integration with Epic Successfully Launches at HMH
Share Your Feedback – Post-Launch Survey

For All Inpatient Providers and Staff
Keep Hospitalized Patients’ Families Updated with Auto Texts/Emails

For Inpatient Nursing
Updated COVID-19 Vaccine Screening

For Inpatient, ED and OR Nurses
Care After Death Form to Match Printed Version

For Everyone-Everyone