Diabetes Educators Calgary Charting Guidelines
Communicating with colleagues, team members and patients
Communication Norms
Charting guidelines are intended for use by Diabetes Centre Calgary clinicians. This page is in development - ongoing updates are being made.
These are expected methods for communicating with colleagues, team members and patients. See this page for detailed descriptions of communication methods and norms.
Communication Methods and Features
| Method | Main Use | Features | Examples of when to use |
|---|---|---|---|
| Secure Chat | Send a short message to colleague | Not part of the legal record, Deleted after 30 d, Ability to attach a patient | Ask a non-urgent question, Remind someone that their patient has arrived |
| In Basket | Task-based messages | Request an order from a CC doctor. Route a message to another provider or pool of providers. | |
| myAHS Connect | Communications with patients | Replaces encrypted emails; Messages part of the legal record; Messages appear in In Basket | Sending handouts, questionnaires to patients; Patient messages to providers, including questions and attachments |
| Phone/pager | Quick communication | Rich communication with patients and colleagues | Advice/orders from a colleague/physician; Clarification of details when communicating with patient or colleague |
| Encrypted Email | Communicating confidential information externally to AHS | Requires documentation in CC and capturing activity | Confidential communication when MyAHS Connect or phone is not available. |
| Regular Email | Communicating non-confidential information | Not part of the legal record. | Sending a publicly available handout; no confidential information included. |
In Basket Messages
Check your In Basket messages first thing in the morning and several times during the day. Mentally note priority messages that need addressing. Look after messages during Admin time and if there are no-shows. The scenarios below refer to communication with patients. For information about other possible In Basket messages, please see the Quick Start Guide and Demystifying In Basket Messages. Detailed guidelines for InBasket are available here.
Patient messages and questions
- To answer a patient who sent a message through MyAHS Connect, first create an encounter - this is very important, because our funding depends on our number of encounters. Depending on how the message was sent by the patient, click on:
- 'My Cht Enc' (My Chart Encounter)
- Or 'Encounter'
- Reply to the message as you deem appropriate
- Through MyChart
- Phone the patient
- Sign the encounter.
Results
You may be copied on certain patient lab results.
- If there's no need to inform the patient: Click on Review
- If you determine that you need to contact the patient:
- More >
- “Call patient about abnormal result” if phoning
- Or if they are signed up for MyAHS Connect, right-click on the result and choose “MyChtEnc” to send a secure message.
myAHS Connect
myAHS Connect
Secure Chat
Patient chart can be attached
Phone/pager
Text