April 23, 2026

One Person One Record (OPOR) Program Updates

OPOR Updates This Week at a Glance:


• Validate Your Provider Practice Information by tomorrow (April 24)
• Get Ready for Wave Two: training, login fairs and virtual practice labs
• Attend a Provider Readiness Hub
• CIS access for private admins
• Patient communications resources for community providers now available on the Physician Portal (no login required)

Note: Active network credentials for Nova Scotia Health or IWK Health are required to access links above and below, unless otherwise indicated. More information beneath.

LAST CHANCE: Confirm your practice details by tomorrow (April 24)

We have extended our deadline for all NSH providers to validate their details in the OPOR Provider Dictionary (using NSH logins) to tomorrow, April 24.


This step ensures your role in the CIS and any practice locations in the community are accurate, enabling results and reports to reach the right place.

Community providers should also keep practice details current through the Physician Portal. (no NSH login required)

Are you ready for Wave Two?

Remember: CIS training = CIS access.

Additional practice following training can be done through Virtual Practice Labs, available daily from 6:00 a.m. to midnight until May 8. (NSH login required).

Login Fairs are in-person events that allow trained CIS users to test their login credentials and Tap and Go before go-live. These fairs will take place from April 27 to May 8. Find the schedule and more information here.

Reminder: Provider Readiness Hubs available until May 8

Attend a Provider Readiness Hub before Go-Live to explore the CIS, connect with Provider Peer Mentors and the Provider Adoption Team, and complete personalization in the live domain. Available Monday to Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Locations include:

• Victoria General Hospital (VGH): Bethune Building, Room 831
• Cobequid Community Health Centre: Room 3421
• Halifax Infirmary Library: Room 2207
• Dartmouth General Hospital: Room 1612
• Canadian Cancer Society (South Street): Boardrooms 200 and 201
  

Learn more about Provider Readiness Hubs. (NSH login required).

CIS access for Private Admins for Wave Two 

Private administrative staff working with Nova Scotia Health or IWK providers can access and train on the CIS for Wave Two. Access requires a network login, signed confidentiality agreement and completion of role-specific training. Departmental outreach is now underway ahead of May 9. 

OPOR Messaging for Patients: Assets for Community Providers now available

Resources supporting community provider communications to patients for Go-Live Two are now available on the Physician Portal (no NSH login required). The resource page and its materials will be updated as new assets are developed for this and future Go-Lives.

*Access to content on the OPOR Hub requires active Nova Scotia Health or IWK Health network credentials.

New NS Health Provincial Referral Form: Specialist Palliative Care and Hospice

A new provincial referral form is available for Nova Scotia Health Specialist Palliative Care and Hospice services.

For EZ, NZ and WZ referrers: this form can be found in the electronic forms repositories in your respective zones.

For CZ referrers: Due to the proximity to OPOR go-live, the form could not be built in the CZ forms repository. Referrers in CZ can access the form on the Palliative Care Clinical Practice Supports Guide.

The form will also be available in primary care EMRs in the coming weeks.

Please ensure referral forms are faxed to the appropriate service (i.e., palliative care, hospice) and location before sending. Service locations/fax numbers are on the back side of the form.

For more information, click here.

Autoimmune Antibody Screening for Type 1 Diabetes

A memo has been developed to provide clear, evidence-informed guidance on autoimmune antibody screening for presymptomatic type 1 diabetes (Stage 1–2), including:

• What clinicians should know
• How to respond to patient and family inquiries
• Current limitations in treatment and screening access in Canada 
  

Read the full memo here.

National Recognition for Excellence in Patient Care

Nova Scotia Health is proud to share that two of our healthcare initiatives have received national recognition through the Canadian College of Health Leaders (CCHL) Awards Program, celebrating excellence, leadership and impact across Canada’s healthcare system. 


• Excellence in Patient Experience Award: STI Care Now led by Emerging Re-emerging Infections Network (ERIN): The STI Care Now program is improving access to testing and care by offering self-referral, self-testing options and integrated virtual care—helping reduce stigma and making services more accessible for communities across Nova Scotia. 
  
• Excellence in Patient Safety Award: Emergency Department Sepsis Improvement Package Initiative led by the Sepsis Action Improvement Team (AIT): This emergency department initiative is transforming how sepsis is identified and treated, with a focus on improved recognition and treatment for better outcomes across the province. 
  

These awards reflect the dedication of teams working every day to improve care for Nova Scotians. Congratulations, teams! Read more.

EXTRA! EXTRA! Nova Scotia Health celebrates national success

Nova Scotia Health celebrates national recognition through the EXTRA program, with one leader and one team receiving top honours for driving meaningful improvements in healthcare.

Graeme Kohler was awarded the Naimark Fellow Award, recognizing exceptional leadership and contributions to Canada’s health system.

Nova Scotia Health’s Primary Health care team earned the Rochon Award for a project with strong potential to improve population health across Nova Scotia.

We’re also celebrating four graduating teams from the EXTRA program whose projects are enhancing care, improving access and strengthening patient experiences across the province. These achievements reflect the important work underway to strengthen care and deliver better outcomes for patients, families and communities. Read more.

Ethics Support and Resources at Nova Scotia Health

Ethics Nova Scotia Health is a support available by request to physicians, employees, learners, volunteers, patients and families in Nova Scotia Health. They provide processes to work through complex situations and decisions that arise in clinical care for individual patients or at a system level, where decisions affect a wide range of patients or groups. They work collaboratively with requestors to address ethics needs, offering clinical and organizational ethics consultations, input for policy development and ethics education. They also develop ethics resources for healthcare providers and for patients and families.



Working with substitute decision-makers (SDMs) is a frequent theme in clinical ethics consultations. Ethics Nova Scotia Health has developed an online education guide for Nova Scotia Health team members, as well as a page with resources on addressing ethics issues arising when working with substitute decision-makers.

Information about this group's activities and SDM resources is available here.

If you are looking for ethics support, visit https://library.nshealth.ca/Ethics-Support/Access

Last Call to Register: 2026 2SLGBTQIA+ Affirming Care Conference

This annual conference, hosted by prideHealth, brings together physicians, nurses, allied health professionals, learners, leaders and invited community partners for focused learning on intersectional 2SLGBTQIA+ healthcare and advancing inclusive clinical practice.

🗓 Dates: April 28-30, 2026

💻 Location: Virtual

This flexible, virtual event allows you to attend the sessions that fit your schedule. Join for one day (April 28, 29, or 30) or all three. Day two is specifically targeted to a physician audience.

Visit the conference event page for a full list of presenters and sessions.

All sessions are being recorded. After registering, you can access sessions live through Zoom or watch recordings after. You can also email prideHealth to receive the full event overview and session recordings.

Register here or email conference.pridehealth@nshealth.ca with any questions.

Earth Day Feature: Dr. Sean Christie

Ahead of Earth Day (April 22), Dr. Sean Christie sat down with Lorie Campbell and Verna MacDonald, co-hosts of the "Coaching Physicians: A Prescription for Leadership" podcast, to discuss environmental health and work underway in Nova Scotia to create a more sustainable healthcare system for all. Read more about this work or listen to the podcast here.

Volunteer Week Feature: Donalda MacIsaac

This week (April 19-25) is National Volunteer Week: a time to honour those, like Donalda MacIsaac, who give their time generously to positively impact our collective well-being.

After caring for her son for many years, Donalda MacIsaac turned her lived experience into advocacy as a patient family advisor with Nova Scotia Health. From Continuing Care to diagnostic services, her insights have helped improve home care, hospital‑to‑home transitions and reduce missed appointments to enhance patient‑centred care across the province. Read more.

Physician Learning Opportunities

Grief Education Series for Physicians: Honouring your Grief and the Grief of Others with Sarah Burm, PhD and Matt Fillier

"Honouring your Grief and the Grief of Others" is the fourth and final installation of the Grief Series for Physicians, offered through Nova Scotia Health's Medical Affairs Webinar Series and Dalhousie University's Faculty of Medicine Professional Development Webinar Series. Each webinar in the grief education series is eligible for Continuing Medical Education Accreditation.

This session explores culturally-responsive and ethically-grounded approaches to honouring grief in diverse healthcare teams, settings and communities. Participants will develop strategies for creating space for grief in clinical practice and organizational culture.

🗓 Date: April 28, 2026

🕚 Time: 5:00 p.m.-6:30 p.m.

💻 Location: Virtual

Register here.

This webinar is facilitated by Sarah Burm, PhD, Associate Professor and Education Research Scientist in the Office of Continuing Professional Development and Medical Education at Dalhousie University, and Matt Fillier, Grief Practice Lead, Palliative Care Network, Nova Scotia Health.

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