Connect Care Builders - Health Evidence Exchange

Health Evidence Exchange (HEE) Web Link Manager

Clinical content (documentation, decision and inquiry supports) within the Connect Care clinical information system (CIS) can include "resource links". These serve users who, for example, are able to jump to a different section of the chart (internal links) or open an external information resource that explains a new task (Internet links).

When Builders insert Internet links (external URLs) into clinical content, it is important to take advantage of link management tools. The Health Evidence Exchange (HEE, ahs-cis.ca/hee) is used for link management in Connect Care. It makes it possible to insert a standardized link into new content. That link points to the HEE, which in turn redirects to the desired external Internet resource.

By following link management processes, Builders can minimize the amount of explanatory prose included in content (e.g., order sets) and can update or upgrade linked supports for users without having to re-build, re-validate, re-test and re-publish the content. The HEE simplifies interactions with Epic's Allow List filter. It also allows Connect Care to rapidly correct any Internet links that "break" or are discovered to represent a cyber risk.

When to use a HEE Link

Some internet resources, such as the Clinician Manual (manual.connect-care.ca), are frequently used in Connect Care clinical content build, are designed as Internet reference materials and benefit from careful curation of content such that resource locators (URLs) remain stable over time. It would be unwieldy to create HEE links for the very large number of links to such AHS content. And those resources have independent link-redirection protections that allow for instant revisions that do not demand editing of link content within Connect Care.

Examples of other resources where HEE-facilitated link-management may not be required include:

CMIO-curated Tip (tips.connect-care.ca), FAQ (questions.connect-care.ca) and Support (support.connect-care.ca) links.
AHS-curated references, such as the Builder Handbook (builders.connect-care.ca) and health informatics glossary (glossary.connect-care.ca).
Resources in AHS managed collections such as CMIO private (cmiofiles.connect-care.ca) and public (cmiofilespublic.connect-care.ca) SharePoint sites.
Epic-managed Internet resources with stable links.

Otherwise, it is best to assume that link coordinates can change over time; or that the best resource to associate with a link could change.

Manual: How to Create Page and Topic Links to Connect Care Clinician Manual Content
Handbook: Using the Connect Care Builder Handbook (see item 2 re creating page and topic links)

Creating a HEE Link

Simplified instructions for creating a HEE link for insertion into clinical content are abstracted from the resources listed below. Editor permissions are required and can be requested of Colin Latter for clinician builders.

Open the AHS SmartRedirect link manager to the Health Evidence Exchange collection: http://ahs-cis.ca/hee, using AHS Healthy logon credentials. (this link can be found within the "Builder Tools" dashboard in POC hyperspace, bottom right corner in the "Clinical Builder Tools" section)

Once the HEE is open, be sure to use the "Search" and/or Filter functions (with a variety of search terms) to ensure that the link to be added has not already been registered in the exchange. If the intended link is already present, select it, then copy the "SmartLink URL" for use with Connect Care clinical content hyperlinks.
If confirmed that a new link is required, select the "+New Item" button, then complete the provided fields as follows:
- Link Name
  - Enter a short but descriptive name for the link.
  - The link name should be space-free and avoid special characters that can interfere with Internet hyperlinks (!@#$%&*).
  - If word-concepts are to be separated, use dashes ("-") to conjoin concepts and underscores ("_") to separate concepts.
  - Note and follow the naming convention (mostly) adopted in HEE when choosing a link name. In general, proceed from broad to specific concepts and heed the general principles in Connect Care naming norms. The first (broadest) concept-term should reflect the category of information, followed by any population limit, followed by topic terms (see Object Legend for link information categories).
- Redirect URL
  - Enter here the full Internet address (URL) for the target information resource.
  - If secure connections are supported, preferentially use the https:// prefix for the URL
- App Name
  - Indicate the type of clinical content (CDS, Documentation, Inquiry), or possibly a subtype of content (e.g., orders) that the link primarily pertains to.
    1. - Use "Clinician Manual" for all links to content in the Connect Care Clinician Manual (manual.connect-care.ca)
      - Use "Builder Handbook" for all links to content in the Connect Care Builders Handbook (builders.connect-care.ca)
  - If the link could be used with different types of clinical content, use "CSD" (clinical system design) to indicate that this link pertains to clinical content. Other groups may create links for different purposes, such as "Help" or "InfoLink".
- Notes
  - If the target information resource (e.g., website) has a user-friendly name, put that here.
  - Other brief descriptive information can include terms that will facilitate easier searches for the link when others seek to avoid duplicate entries.
Save the new link and note the SmartRedirect name that is assigned. It will be in the format: https://ahsweb.ca/HEE/Link-Name

Resources

Link: Health Evidence Exchange (ahs-cis.ca/hee)
Presentation: Health Evidence Exchange
Intranet: HEE (Connect Care Health Evidence Exchange, ahs-cis.ca/hee)
- Link available on Builder Dashboard within Connect Care (see bottom right "tools" links within Builder dashboard)
SharePoint: HEE Instructions