Trending in IT- Laboratory System Planned Downtime
- MyRounding Portal Changes to Huron
Accelerator
- Webex Disabled Permanently on Thursday, March 31
Security Matters - Apple Releases Critical Update
- Make Sure You're Using the Right Browsers
- Be on Alert for Tax Return
Scams
Launch Alerts
Epic Updates - Review Your Update Companion Before the March 6 Epic Update
- Attend an Update Briefing
- New Patients Asked How They Heard About the Physician
- Arterial Blood Gas Order Is No Longer Completed from Work List
- Disregard Epic Pop-Up Message After System Reboot
- Some Epic Personalization Features Unavailable
- Managers: Prepare Your Staff
Provider News Planned Downtimes
For All Hospital-Based and ED/ECC Providers, Nurses and Clinicians
Laboratory System Planned Downtime
Beginning 10 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 19 until approx. 7:30 a.m. Sunday, Feb. 20All IT laboratory systems will be unavailable beginning 10 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 19 until approximately 7:30 a.m. Sunday, Feb. 20. This planned downtime is for critical upgrades and maintenance. ADT, lab orders and results interfaces will also be paused during the downtime. Electronic messages for lab orders will be held in a queue until the downtime is complete. Please follow your standard downtime procedures for lab-related issues, including: Specimen and lab test orders - All lab tests must be ordered on a downtime paper requisition form, provided by your entity’s lab department.
- Requisitions must have the unit’s fax number and phone number.
- Paper requisition forms must accompany every specimen to the lab.
- All specimens should be labeled using the Epic patient labels. Standard specimen labels generated by Soft won’t be available.
Blood products - Blood product scanning in Epic’s
Blood Product Administration Module (BPAM) won’t be available.
- Administer blood products using your downtime procedures.
Glucometers - Use glucometers in their downtime mode and document all results on paper.
- Enter the patient’s CSN from their armband into the meter.
Lab results - Results will be
faxed to the unit using the fax number on the paper requisition form.
- Critical results will be called.
Downtime procedures should also be used for: - All bedside/point-of-care testing.
- ED/ECC lab orders.
Nursing Managers: Please share these materials with your teams before the downtime: Thank you for your cooperation and patience during this downtime. For questions or assistance, please contact your entity’s lab department. For technical issues, contact the IT Service Desk.
For All Nurses and Nursing Leadership
MyRounding Portal Changes to Huron Accelerator
Effective Monday, Feb. 22On Monday, Feb. 22, the MyRounding Portal is changing to Huron Accelerator, offering a more user-friendly experience. Plus, soon you’ll be able to use single sign-on when logging in. Prior to the change, you’ll need to do the following:
MyRounding Portal used to show this image on the iPads:
Huron Accelerator will now show this image on the iPads:
For questions, contact the IT Service Desk.
For Everyone
Webex Disabled Permanently
Effective Thursday, March 31Beginning Thursday, March 31, Houston Methodist will no longer offer Webex as a conferencing option. Please cancel any Webex meetings and reschedule it as a Teams meeting. Do not schedule any new Webex meetings. For help scheduling a Teams meeting, click here. Note: Specific, targeted roles at HM will have an assigned Zoom account, but it isn't available for everyone.
For Everyone
Apple Releases Critical Update
Update Your Apple DevicesApple released a critical update that requires your attention. They recently applied a zero-day patch/change that addresses security vulnerabilities. The term zero-day describes a recently discovered security vulnerability, or flaw, that hackers can use to steal private information. It’s called zero-day because the developer has had “zero days” to fix it before it was discovered. Apple released security updates for several of its products to address this issue. This impacts iPhone 6s and later, all iPad Pro models, iPad Air 2 and later, iPad 5th generation and later, iPad mini 4 and later and iPod touch 7th generation. It also affects desktops and notebooks running the most
recent update, macOS Monterey. As a reminder, non-compliant devices risk not having access to HM data and emails. Here’s how to do the update: - iPhone or iPad: Go to Settings > General > Software Update and tap Download and Install.
- Apple Watch: From an iPhone, update the Apple Watch app, under General > Software Update.
Here’s how to set your iPhone or iPad for automatic updates: - Go to Settings > General > Software Update.
- Tap Automatic Updates, then turn on Download iOS Updates.
- Turn on Install iOS Updates. Note: Some updates might require a manual install.
For Everyone
Make Sure You're Using the Right Browsers
Effective Now: Say Good-Bye to FirefoxDue to ongoing IT security risks, HM doesn't support the Mozilla Firefox browser. Please make sure you use only HM-approved browsers — Microsoft Edge, Google Chrome or Apple Safari. These browsers comply with our IT Security requirements and will help keep our patient data and HM information safe.
For Everyone
Be on Alert for Tax Return ScamsIt's tax season. This means you not only need to file your taxes, but you also need to watch for tax themed scams and phishing emails. Phishing is when a hacker sends you an email that attempts to steal information such as usernames, passwords and other valuable information. Sometimes these phishing emails appear to be from your tax preparation firm.
Here are some frequently asked questions that may help you stay safe from these phishing scams: Q: Will the tax authorities contact me?
A: No. Tax authorities will never contact you via e-mail, text messages or social media.
Q: What do I do if I receive an e-mail claiming to be from the tax authorities?
A: Don’t reply or click on any links or download any attachments. Immediately forward the email to phishing@irs.gov and note that it seems to be a scam. If you receive the phish in your HM work email, click the Report Phish button in Outlook to alert HM IT security.
For All Case Managers and Social Workers
AIDA Referral Management Integration Launches in Epic
Effective Tuesday, March 1Starting Tuesday, March 1, a new referral management platform, AIDA, will replace AIDEN in the Case Management Discharge navigator. If you are a case manager or social worker, be sure to register for the AIDA training in LMS (available Feb. 17-25). Effective Tuesday, Feb. 22, you may see links to both AIDEN and AIDA in the Case Management Discharge navigator. Do not use AIDA as the case management inpatient
integration will not be fully operational until March 1.
For Epic Users
Review Your Update Companion
Before the March 6 Epic Update
To prepare for the March 6 Epic Update, be sure to review your Update Companion. Your Update Companion has a section, right up front, with highlights of the top changes for your role. It also includes role-based summaries of new workflows and enhancements, as well as guided activities for the Epic Playground. To find your Update Companion, use the links below or press F1 on your keyboard while logged into Epic to access your Learning Home. Links to all Companions are also available at it.houstonmethodist.org/epicupdate/.
Provider Update Companions
Note: Your Companion will show a Feb. 13 date, the original date for this Update.
Clinician Companions
Note: Your Companion will show a Feb. 13 date, the original date for this Update.
Non-Clinician/Staff Companions
Note: Your Companion will show a Feb. 13 date, the original date for this Update.
For Epic Users
Attend an Update Briefing
To Learn About Top Changes for Your Role
For SPG/PCG Front Desk and Registration Staff
New Patients Asked How They Heard About the PhysicianFor new SPG/PCG visits, the Provider Info form now shows a field asking how the patient heard about the physician. This replaces the field asking how the patient heard about us in hospital registrations. Note: This field is only for new patients and is greyed out for all other visits including hospital visits.
For All Nurses and Respiratory Therapists
Arterial Blood Gas Order Is No Longer Completed From Work List
Effective NowTo help resolve issues with collecting or scanning ABG lab labels, these orders will now follow the same workflow as all other lab orders in Epic. The order is considered complete when results are sent back to Epic from SOFT. Clicking Done on the ABG button will no longer complete the order. If you send the ABG sample to the lab, lab staff will run the sample and verify the results in SOFT.
For Epic Users at HMW and HMH
Disregard Epic Pop-Up Message After System Reboot
8-11 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 22 (HMW, HMH) Due to planned system maintenance, from 8-11 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 22 at HMW and HMH, several shared workstations will experience a quick reboot. As a result, you may see a pop-up message similar to the one below stating your workstation has an open session on another computer. Please disregard this message and click Yes to continue. If you experience issues, please contact the IT Service Desk.
For Epic Users
Some Epic Personalization Features Unavailable
5 a.m. Wednesday, March 2 to 3:30 a.m. Sunday, March 6Some Epic personalization features will be unavailable, and no changes or enhancements can be made from 5 a.m. Wednesday, March 2 to 3:30 a.m. Sunday, March 6. You’ll still be able to work in Epic as usual, but you won't be able to: - Apply filters in Chart Review.
- Create, edit and share NoteWriter macros, SmartPhrases and SmartLinks.
- Create and edit In Basket QuickActions.
For Manager/Directors
Prepare Your Staff for the Epic UpdateAs a leader and sponsor, please help your staff understand the changes before the next Epic Update. To help you communicate with your team, role-specific materials are available for you to share during meetings, huddles and rounding. In addition, encourage staff to review their Companions and follow the guided activities in the Epic Playground. View the Accessing the Epic Playground tip sheet for help and a list of user IDs and passwords for all roles.
For Providers
Physician Connect and Provider Site
Planned Downtimes or MaintenancesIf 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.
11:55 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 17 to
5 a.m. Friday, Feb. 18. LaborWorkx won’t be available during these time frames. Be sure to print any required items. For questions, contact HR Hub at 832.667.6211 or HRHub@HoustonMethodist.org. Note: Badge Readers will be available, but not Quick Badge and Mobile app.
11:59 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 17 to
4 a.m. Friday, Feb. 18 You may experience intermittent internet and application access slowness, lasting up to 30 seconds. Save your work often during this maintenance time, and if network drives and icons are missing reboot your computer.
10 p.m. – midnight Thursday, Feb. 17
10 p.m. – midnight Tuesday, Feb. 22 Be prepared for intermittent or no access. Follow your department’s standard downtime procedures.
10 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 19 to
5 a.m. Sunday, Feb. 20 LMS won't be available due to maintenance.
10 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 19 to
7:30 a.m. Sunday, Feb. 20 All IT laboratory systems will be unavailable for critical upgrades and maintenance. ADT, lab orders and results interfaces will also be paused. Lab results will be faxed to the unit using the appropriate fax number on the paper requisition form. Critical results will be called. Follow your standard downtime procedures for lab-related issues and reference the article under the Trending in IT section for more details.
Network Maintenance (HMH/HMRI)
9-10 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 24 Devices using HM wireless networks will experience a network interruption for up to one hour. When the maintenance is complete devices will automatically reconnect. This will impact all devices using Wi-Fi, including HM laptops, WOWs and medical equipment connected to wireless and guest access.
IT Support Website
(itsupport.houstonmethodist.org)
Pyxis ES Server Upgrade and Migration – Pyxis Medstations
6 p.m. Saturday, March 5 to
6 a.m. Sunday, March 6 During this downtime, Pyxis Medstations will be in critical override to ensure access to medications minimizing the impact to bedside nurses. Patient and order updates won't be received from Epic. Temporary patients may be created for new admissions.
2-3:30 a.m. Sunday, March 6 During the downtime, access Epic Read-Only. Note: Data in Epic Read-Only is current until the downtime begins. You can’t document or place orders in Epic Read-Only. For more details, review the Planned Downtime Instructions.
Pyxis ES Medstation and Anesthesia Upgrades
3 p.m. Wednesday, March 9 to
12:01 a.m. Saturday, April 30 During this time frame, small groups of Pyxis stations will be unavailable for up to four hours at a time. Pharmacy IT and your local pharmacy will coordinate downtimes away from heavy med pass times.
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