Question: How do I manage orders in Connect Care for Long-Term Care (LTC) and Supportive Living (SL) residents requiring hemodialysis (HD), peritoneal dialysis (PD), or an Alberta Kidney Care (AKC) clinic appointment?
Context: If an LTC/SL resident requires HD/PD or an AKC clinic appointment, there is a specific workflow that needs to be followed so that information flows appropriately through Connect Care. This will allow medication orders to work correctly and help to mitigate patient safety concerns. The specific workflow is dependent on whether the facility is on Connect Care, and, if it is, whether the facility has an on-site pharmacy (e.g., CareWest or Capital Care facilities) or uses a contracted/community pharmacy.
Answer: For HD, PD, or AKC clinic appointments, the LTC/DSL Prescriber and Nephrologist must follow the workflow specific to the whether the facility is on Connect Care (as this will determine whether the resident is considered an outpatient or an inpatient) and whether the facility has an onsite vs. contracted/community pharmacy, with the following considerations in mind:
- Connect Care facilities with on-site pharmacy: Medications are ordered in the inpatient "Orders" activity.
- Connect Care facilities with a contracted/community pharmacy: Medications are ordered in the "External Orders Community" tab.
- For HD: Ordered via the Hemodialysis Therapy Plan, with any changes to be made by the Nephrologist. The "Dialysis Treatment Orders", "Hemodialysis-Anemia Management Protocol" and "Hemodialysis-Intradialytic Anticoagulation Protocol" medications are already included in the Hemodialysis Therapy Plan. It is important for the LTC/DSL Prescriber to ensure there are not duplicative orders for medications, as duplicative orders may lead to patient safety concerns.
- For PD: Ordered via the Adult Peritoneal Dialysis Order Sets, with any changes to be made by the Nephrologist.
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