April 2025 eTips Newsletter

Tips and advice on EMRs and digital health tools you can use NOW

From the CMO's Desk

Saluting the Contributions of Physicians on National Physicians' Day

May 1 is commemorated as National Physicians' Day across Canada, or Doctors' Day in Ontario, to recognize the critical role of family doctors and other specialists in our communities. It's also Dr. Emily Stowe's birthday (the first female physician in Canada). Your tireless work to provide patient care while facing significant stressors, including administrative burden and long hours, is inspiring.

How can we reduce administrative workloads, recapture the joy in our work, and get back to being doctors? These are topics that will be addressed in the OMD Educates: Digital Health Virtual Symposium on April 25, 2025. There's still time to register for this one-of-a-kind event and earn Continuing Medical Education (CME) credits, from the comfort of your home or office.

Featuring live-streaming sessions on topics that matter to you, including AI, cybersecurity, referral management, EMR workflows, and more, this virtual event provides practical tools to help you navigate some of your stressors. All sessions will be recorded and available for 3 months after the event.

This incredibly practical conference is perfect for physicians (community family physicians and specialists), NPs, office managers, and clinic staff.

Call for abstracts for the in-person OMD Educates: Digital Health Conference now open! Submit your novel ideas under one of five streams for the event on September 18-19, 2025, at the Toronto Congress Centre!

Tip from a Peer Leader

OMD Peer Leaders comprise a network of over 50 physicians (family doctors and other specialists), nurse practitioners, nurses, and clinic managers. As expert users of OMD-certified EMRs and other digital health and virtual care tools, they work with our Advisory Service Team to help you with your EMR, digital tools and digital workflows. Discover what our Peer Leader Program and Advisory Service can do for you.

Using Ocean EMR to Secure Email and Virtual Consent from Patients

Watch the video from Dr. Sharon Domb, a family physician in Toronto, to hear about how to get email and virtual consent from patients through your Ocean EMR.

Advice from the General Counsel and CPO

Cybersecurity Risks and Digital Health

Healthcare technology is accelerating so rapidly, it's challenging to keep up – yet many doctors use digital technologies daily to provide exceptional patient care. With many new emerging technologies, it's important to consider the legal, privacy and security implications of these tools, particularly, whether these technologies have been vetted by appropriate regulators to assess their compatibility with clinicians' professional obligations. What privacy standards and guardrails govern these solutions? Most importantly, does the use of the tool easily lend itself to ensuring clinicians can meet regulatory expectations.

At the OMD Educates: Digital Health Virtual Symposium on April 25, I'll be discussing strategies to safeguard patient and practice data through cybersecurity best practices. Other speakers will tackle topics such as AI, roster management and clinical efficiencies. Register now to learn more about these issues and ask your questions! If you can't make it in person, your conference registration gives you on-demand access to session recordings for up to 90 days after the symposium.

OMD AI News

OMD's Influential Voice on AI Featured in Canadian Healthcare Technology's April Issue

OMD's AI thought leadership continues to generate headlines. Read the article, Transforming Primary Care with AI: A Collaborative Implementation Strategy, authored by Executive Director, Partnerships and Stakeholders Simon Ling and Digital Health Research Lead Abbas Zavar.

Visit the OMD Practice Hub to learn more about AI scribes.

HRM Improvements

Work on 'Axing the Fax' Continues On

Kudos to Queensway Carleton Hospital (QCH) and Arnprior and District Memorial Hospital for actively decreasing administrative burden for the clinical community. We hope more hospitals follow their lead.

On April 7, 2025, Queensway Carleton Hospital (QCH) joined the ranks of hospitals that have implemented the Stop Paper initiative, aligning with the Health Report Manager (HRM®) Task Force recommendations to reduce the number of faxes to clinicians. This means that QCH stopped sending duplicate, faxed reports to all HRM users. For questions or concerns, please contact the QCH Communication Coordinator at mdhelp@qch.on.ca.

On April 10, 2025, Arnprior and District Memorial Hospital also stopped sending duplicate, faxed reports to HRM users. If you have any questions about this, please contact the hospital at mdhelp@arnpriorhealth.ca.

For information on how to opt out of eNotifications to reduce the number of HRM reports in your inbox, check out the April HRM User Bulletin.

Want to know more about how HRM Task Force recommendations are being implemented? Check out the HIRAC (HRM Improvement Recommendations Advisory Committee) page.

Your HRM experience is important to us. We support you and your practice, at no cost, so don't hesitate to contact us at support@ontariomd.com with any questions about HRM or anything else digital.

OMD Advisory Service

New Cervical Screening Tool Now Available for TELUS PS Suite Users

OMD has launched a new Cervical Screening Tool to help clinicians implement the updated Ontario Cervical Cancer Screening Guidelines, which now include HPV testing as part of routine screening. The Tool offers EMR-specific searches and reminders for TELUS PS Suite, making it easier for practices to identify patients who are overdue for cervical cancer screening.

Learn more and access the Tool.

OMD Advisors develop useful tools like the Cervical Screening Tool and provide valuable advice to clinicians anywhere in Ontario. They can help you with digital health tools used in Ontario, not just EMRs. Take advantage of their free services before you call anyone else! Contact support@ontariomd.com for assistance.

OMD Digital Health Advocacy and Education

Partner News

Calling all Mississauga and South Etobicoke Doctors! Join the Mississauga Health Primary Care Network

The Mississauga Health Primary Care Network (MH PCN) invites primary care doctors to join the MH PCN and connect with over 700 providers in Mississauga and South Etobicoke. As a member, you'll gain access to:

Peer Support & Collaboration: Connect via our private WhatsApp group and access educational resources.
Learning Opportunities & Resources: Enjoy a $260 self-learning program from the College of Family Physicians at no cost!
Digital Tools: Access mentorship, practice facilitation support, and exclusive tools.
Reignite Your Passion: Collaborate with health organizations and improve patient care.

Membership is FREE! Click here to join. For more information, contact Pragina Sivarajah at mhprimarycarenetwork@gmail.com.

Need Help with Your EMR?

Your EMR should be a benefit, not a burden. In addition to our OMD Advisory Service and Peer Leaders, OMD has additional resources to help you use your certified EMR better to save you time and frustration.

OMD develops tools and suggests helpful workflow improvements in our EMR Lab.

Join an EMR Community of Practice (CoP)! CoP is a virtual place for EMR and digital health tool users, including clinicians and office staff, to share their knowledge, discover upcoming changes, ask questions and learn from the vendors and other users. Find out more about OMD EMR Communities of Practice.

Important Reminders

Changing Your EMR or Practice? OMD Needs to Know Especially for HRM!

Planning to make any of these changes?
Moving, joining or taking over a practice
Changing your internet plan or provider
Changing EMRs