Success! EHR Provider Fair

UMC, UMCP (formerly PNS), and TTP held their first major provider fair on March 7th. Well over 100 faculty, residents, non-physician providers, and students attended.  Overall, the feedback was positive and we received many requests for repeat fairs in the future.

"I really loved the 'combined team' approach. This is how IT should be." - UMC provider

What did you think?  Did you get to go to the fair?  What booths did you find most helpful?  What would you like to see at future fairs?

 

Alert: POC Blood Glucose

IMPLEMENTATION DATE: March 9th, 2016

New alert for POC blood sugar checks. 

The alert will fire with options for POC blood sugar checks to be ordered at different frequencies.

     *New insulin order with NO POC blood sugar checks

     *D/C POC blood sugar checks with active insulin order on profile

     *Insulin drip D/C with POC blood sugar D/C or no order

          -Recommends monitoring for 24 hours after D/C of drip

Zika Education for Male AND Female Patients

Zika and Sexual Transmission

What we know

  • Zika virus can be spread by a man to his sex partners.
  • In known cases of likely sexual transmission, the men had Zika symptoms.
  • In one case, the virus was spread a few days before symptoms developed.
  • The virus is present in semen longer than in blood.

What we do not know

  • We do not know how long the virus is present in semen in men who have had Zika.
  • We do not know if infected men who never develop symptoms can have Zika virus in their semen.
  • We do not know if infected men who never develop symptoms can transmit Zika virus through sex.
  • We do not know if a woman can transmit Zika virus to her sex partners.

Pregnant? What you should know about Zika and sex

Zika virus can be spread by a man to his sex partners. Because of the link between Zika and birth defects, take steps to prevent infection during your pregnancy. Talk to your doctor about the steps you can take.

If you have a male partner who lives in or has traveled to an area with Zika, protect your pregnancy.

  • Don’t have sex with your male partner during your pregnancy. OR
  • If you do have vaginal, anal, or oral (mouth-to-penis) sex, use a condom the right way every time during your pregnancy.
  • Not having sex is the best way to be sure that someone does not get sexually transmitted Zika virus.
  • Condoms can also help prevent getting HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases.
  • Your male partner should also take steps to prevent mosquito bites to prevent further spread of the virus.

If you think your male partner may have or had Zika, tell your healthcare provider about

  • His travel history
  • How long he stayed
  • If he took steps to prevent mosquito bites
  • If you had sex without a condom

Men: Do you have a pregnant partner?

Zika virus can be spread by a man to his sex partners. Because of the link between Zika and birth defects, take steps to prevent your partner from getting Zika during her pregnancy. Talk to your doctor about what steps you can take.

If you live in or travel to an area with Zika, protect your partner’s pregnancy.

  • Don’t have sex with your pregnant partner during the pregnancy. OR
  • If you do have vaginal, anal, or oral (mouth-to-penis) sex, use a condom the right way every time during the pregnancy.
  • Not having sex is the best way to be sure that someone does not get sexually transmitted Zika virus.
  • Condoms can also help prevent getting HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases.
  • Take steps to prevent mosquito bites to prevent further spread of the virus.

If you think you may have or had Zika, tell your healthcare provider about

  • Your travel history
  • How long you stayed
  • If you took steps to prevent mosquito bites
  • If you had sex with your pregnant partner without a condom

Testing

There are tests to detect Zika virus in semen but they are not widely available.  We have a limited understanding of how to interpret the results of such tests, so testing of semen is not recommended. As we learn more, these tests may become more helpful to determine the risk of sexual transmission of Zika.

PLEASE READ THE LINK BELOW REGARDING CURRENT CDC RECOMMENDATIONS FOR ZIKA AND SEXUAL TRANSMISSION

CDC Prevention of Sexual Transmission

Zika: EHR Recommendations Coming Soon

Scheduled for Wednesday, February 17th, is the go-live for the new Zika alert. It is built to alert the provider when they open the patient's chart.  The patient must qualify for the alert to fire. Included in the alert will by why the patient qualified, a link to the most current CDC algorithm, and current lab and OB recommendations.

At this time, TTP OBGYN Department recommends if the patient tests positive, schedule an OB appointment for the patient and then allow OB to order the applicable series of ultrasounds, if needed. Of course, patient management and choice of OB providers is entirely up to you and your patient.

As of 2.12.16, the "hot spots" of travel were still: Carribean, Central and South America, Mexico, Cape Verde, and the Pacific Islands

About 1 in 5 people infected with Zika virus become symptomatic. Symptoms can include: maculopapular rash, conjunctivitis, arthralgia, or acute onset fever. Some patient's also report myalgia and headache, but these are not as common (CDC.gov, 2016)

Current interim (2.5.16) CDC guidelines for the management of the pregnant female with recent travel to countries identified as at risk for the Zika virus, are as follows:

(SEE DIRECT LINK AT BOTTOM OF ARTICLE)

As of 2.15.16, the UMC lab states the method of ordering the Zika testing is a paper order form provided by them. Make sure to sign the bottom of the form prior to sending (the current form provides no official are to sign). Send that, along with a tiger top to the lab.  They are asking for it to be hand delievered at this time. They will send the specimen to the state lab.  From there the sample will be split with the state running the sample for chikungunya and dengue and the rest going to the CDC for Zika. The UMC lab wishes the providers to know that the CDC may choose to reject the testing.  In that case, our lab will notify the ordering provider.


(THIS IS A MOCKUP ALERT AND SUBJECT TO CHANGE)

Nursing staff: make sure to check the Zika box if your patient is already being treated for Zika. This will shut down the alert so you do not receive it the rest of the pregnancy!


Click HERE for CDC Recommendations as of 2.5.16

Schedule Downtime - Radiology 01.30.16

***Attention***

Downtime Notification for Maintenance

Maintenance will be performed on Saturday, January 30th, 2016  11:00am to 5:00pm.  All Cerner applications will be unavailable.

During this downtime, PowerChart and ECG viewing will be unavailable.  New orders to Xcelera and the modality worklist will not be functional during the downtime, but Xcelera will still be up.  However, any reports finalized through Xcelera will not be accessible in PowerChart until after the downtime. Please follow all appropriate downtime procedures until Cerner is back up. For more, see below...

  • Scanning – Pharmscan will available and orders should be scanned in this system.  Paper documents created during downtime should be scanned into Cerner once the system is available.
  • Cerner PACS/and Image Viewing through Cerner – All Radiology images will be available through the SkyVue downtime viewer.  An icon will be on designated computers to launch this application.
  • Fetalink – The birthing center will be able to perform fetal monitoring, but archiving and viewing of prior strips will be unavailable.

If you have any questions, do not hesitate to call the physician concierge service at 775-TALK.   We appreciate your patience during this downtime.