November 2025 eTips Newsletter
Tips and advice on EMRs and digital health tools you can use NOW
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Here’s what you’ll find in this month’s issue
From the CMO's Desk
OMD Advisory Service team: Going above and beyond for you
For over 20 years, OntarioMD (OMD) has been a trusted digital health advisor for clinicians, helping them leverage technology to enhance practice operations and patient care.
Read the first success story, Helping You Reclaim Control Over Referral Management, in our Going Above and Beyond series, for real-life examples from clinicians about the support they received from the OMD Advisory Service team. Need assistance?
Contact them today!
Register for the 2026 OMD Educates: Digital Health Conference and the Virtual Symposium, with SUPER early bird pricing, to learn more about reducing administrative burden and improving workflows.
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AI Tools for Ontario Clinicians
Still on the fence about signing up for an AI scribe? Now's the time!
When clinicians sign up for the Ontario AI Scribe Program, they're assured that all AI scribes were vetted against provincial requirements for clinical functions, privacy, and data security. Don't take chances with a vendor and contract that haven't been vetted, or that you must evaluate yourself.
Get started today!
Want to hear from fellow clinicians on their AI scribe experience?
Register for the complimentary OMD Educates webinar, Pyjamas are for sleeping: AI scribes and reclaiming the night, on November 18, 2025, at 12:00 p.m.
Visit the OMD Practice Hub for the
Vendor of Record list,
program video, and
frequently asked questions on the Ontario AI Scribe Program.
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Tip from a Peer Leader
TELUS PS Suite EMR users – Use the Problem List for Smart Charting
This month's tip comes from
Dr. Sharon Domb, OMD Physician Peer Leader. Streamline your workflow by using the Problem List in PS Suite to track condition-specific updates. Add brief notes (ex. "Sep 2025: GAD-7 = 3/21, PHQ-9 = 2/27") in the CPP item's long details to create a visible, chronological trail. During follow-ups, simply copy and paste the summary into your note! No need to scroll through or search the chart. It's a smart way to keep your clinical thinking organized and accessible.
If you'd like advice from a Peer Leader that is tailored to your clinic, please contact
peer.leader.program@ontariomd.com. Discover what our
Peer Leader Program and
Advisory Service can do for you.
OMD Peer Leaders comprise a network of over 55 physicians, 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 and digital workflows.
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Tips from an OMD Advisor
Identifying infants and high-risk children eligible for RSV prevention programs
As the winter season nears, it's crucial to protect infants and high-risk children against severe respiratory illness.
OMD's Infant RSV Toolkit helps clinician users of Accuro®, OSCAR Pro and TELUS PS Suite EMRs to identify children eligible for the RSV vaccine.
Additional RSV resources are available from the Ontario Medical Association (for members only).
OMD Advisors develop useful tools and provide valuable advice to clinicians anywhere in Ontario. They can help you with provincial digital health tools, not just EMRs. Take advantage of these services, at no cost to you, before calling anyone else! Contact support@ontariomd.com for assistance.
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Advice from the General Counsel and CPO
Are physicians at risk when uploading patient information to insurance portals?
Physicians are increasingly being asked to upload forms or documents containing personal health information to insurance or third-party portals. These platforms often claim they're "PHIPA- and PIPEDA-compliant," but how can physicians be sure? What happens if there is a privacy breach?
When physicians send patient information through these portals, they are doing so at the patient's direction — not for their own purposes. Patient consent governs the disclosure, and by asking physicians to upload the information, patients have already given their consent (which is usually implied). In this situation, physicians are essentially acting as agents for patients, not as independent data controllers.
Because of this, the privacy risk does not fall on physicians. Insurers or portal providers — the parties collecting and storing the data — are responsible for meeting privacy and security requirements under PHIPA and PIPEDA. It is also reasonable for physicians to rely on assurances of compliance from insurers or portal providers.
Key takeaways:
- Patients direct the disclosure and assume the risk.
- Insurers and/or portal providers must ensure compliance.
- Physicians can rely on representations of compliance from insurers and/or portal providers.
The bottom line: while privacy vigilance is always important, physicians can upload patient forms or documents with confidence, with no additional action required.
Read more privacy and security tips from past issues of our newsletter
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HRM Improvements
Unclutter your inbox: Turn off eNotifications
Looking to minimize your report volume? Join your fellow clinicians and
sign up to turn off HRM eNotifications. To date, over 289,000 eNotifications have been stopped. Still receiving paper (faxed) reports?
Visit our Sending Facilities page to submit a stop paper request. Find the relevant facility on the page and click on the green button for contact details for each organization to manage your stop paper request.
HRM optimization continues
Following positive feedback on the HRM optimization trial – which addressed duplicate, near match, and PDF reports delivered from hospitals to EMRs via HRM – OMD is actively planning the next phases of the project with health system partners to find the right solutions to reduce your report burden.
Your HRM experience is important to us. We support you and your practice,
at no cost to you, so don't hesitate to contact us at
support@ontariomd.com with any questions about HRM or anything else digital.
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Partner News
OMD believes in leveraging the strength of our collaborations with partners to bring useful resources to clinicians.
Tools by the Centre for Effective Practice (CEP)
Menopause management
CEP's latest tool for
Menopause Management supports primary care clinicians in effectively implementing tailored treatment plans for individuals across the menopause journey. The tool provides evidence-based guidance on assessment and the full range of treatment options, including considerations for specific populations and follow-up care.
Free academic detailing on menopause pharmacotherapy
Tailored 1:1 education on menopause pharmacotherapy is now available! Meet virtually or in-person with an academic detailing pharmacist and get answers to your questions on:
Assessing if menopausal hormone therapy (MHT) is appropriate
Understanding MHT options and how they compare
Choosing the most appropriate regimen for the patient's symptoms and risk factors
Monitoring and adjusting therapy
Much more!
Update: Seasonal Preparedness Resource
CEP's
Seasonal Preparedness Resource has been expanded! In addition to chronic disease optimization, you can now find information on:
Practice management during respiratory season
Seasonal and respiratory immunizations
Vaccine confidence and equitable access
Developed with input from clinical experts, this resource is designed to help clinicians plan and prepare for respiratory season. Guidance on seasonal illness testing and management, and IPAC recommendations will follow later this year.
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OMD Digital Health Advocacy and Education
Upcoming events
OntarioMD is proud to attend events across the province, connecting with clinicians and supporting the important work of Ontario Health Teams (OHTs) and Primary Care Networks (PCNs). If you're interested in having OntarioMD speak at your event or host a booth with our knowledgeable advisors, please reach out to us at
omd.events@ontariomd.com
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OMD in the News
Recent media
- On Oct. 27, The Medical Post referenced OMD's Digital Health Conference in its article (gated), "Why so many doctors hate their EMRs".
- On Nov. 3, Canadian Healthcare Technology featured articles showcasing OMD's leadership:
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, COMPLIMENTARY resources to help you use your certified EMR better to save you time and frustration.
Find out how we can help you.
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.
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Important Reminders
Changing Your EMR or Practice? OMD Needs to Know,
Especially for HRM!
Planning to make any of these changes?
Contact us at
support@ontariomd.com at least two (2) weeks in advance to ensure you continue to receive HRM reports.
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