May 28, 2026

One Person One Record (OPOR) Program Updates

It's been an exciting week, as we continued to learn forward in Wave 2 and announced upcoming dates and zones for Wave 3! Here are a few updates from the OPOR team.


CIS Adoption Metrics

• Medication administration adoption metrics continue to be impressive and exceed targets, with more than 17,000 patients scanned since May 9! Scanning patient armbands is a critical component to proper closed loop medication management.
• Computerized provider order entry (CPOE) adoption is sitting at 90 per cent in Wave 2, meaning 90 per cent of all orders placed in the CIS have been done directly by providers. This speaks to the commitment of providers to patient safety. CPOE saves lives!


All Clinical Care is to be entered in the CIS

• Many departments and divisions must maintain legacy EMRs strictly for administrative work (for example, submission of physician billings codes through to MSI)
• EMRs are not to be used for any clinic care for in scope areas—all documentation, orders (including requisitions and prescriptions) are not to be places through independent EMRs. They must be placed through the OPOR-CIS.
• If there is any ambiguity about a workflow in your clinic space, please connect with your leadership to clarify.
  

Residents need to cc: Attendings on DI Orders

• Please ensure that residents cc: their attending physician for any/all DI orders. This guide has more information on this: DI Ordering Quick Glance Provider Job Aid (NSH login required)
• Subscribe to receive results via ‘Results FYI’ to keep up-to-date on orders placed by residents. If an order is placed in an ambulatory setting and you’re the attending provider (and subscribed), results should appear in your ‘Results FYI’ folder.
• New Results FYI subscriptions are forthcoming to ensure additional coverage in the outpatient space – stay tuned.
  

Reminder: Orders Hygiene is critical to patient safety

• Maintain strong orders hygiene at every patient transition. We are seeing increasing scenarios—particularly when patients transfer between services—where duplicate and outdated orders are accumulating in the chart. While duplicate medication orders create obvious patient safety concerns, we are also seeing duplicate laboratory and communication orders that require reconciliation.
• Review existing active orders before entering new orders or PowerPlans. Utilize ‘Merge View’ to visualize active orders already on the patient’s chart and avoid creating unnecessary duplication. You can submit a ticket for this – screen grab will be helpful to investigate.
• Do not bypass duplicate order alerts. These alerts are intentionally designed to prompt review and safe clinical decision-making. When a duplicate alert appears, stop and determine whether the existing order should remain, be discontinued or be updated.
• Follow admission and transfer workflows to reconcile orders appropriately. Patient movement between units and services is a critical moment to review, clean up and confirm active orders.
• Duplicate and outdated orders create downstream impacts on care. Redundant communication orders and unnecessary active orders increase noise for nursing teams, make it harder to identify current clinical direction, and can compromise safe and efficient patient care.

If you have a CIS-based Practice and a Community Based Practice...

• There are two profiles associated to you!
• If requisitions are being sent from your community-based practice, or out-of-scope practice, registration must select your correct off-site/community provider account in the CIS to ensure results route back appropriately to that location/EMR.
• If Registration, instead, selects your in-CIS provider account, the resulting reports and results will route to your CIS Message Centre instead of your community EMR.
• Providers are encouraged to include very clear instructions on requisitions, indicating which provider account/location should be selected in the CIS to support accurate registration, and ensure results return to the intended destination.
  

Outpatient Laboratory Requisitions—Printing not Required for CIS-placed labs

• If you have placed a future lab order for your ambulatory patient, and they are having their blood collected at a NSH or IWK facility, you do not need to provide them with a printed copy. The lab can access this information directly in the CIS.
• If your patient is going out of province or to a private phlebotomist, they will need a paper copy.
• Note: there is no change in how lab requisitions are to be provisioned from providers in the community.

Reminder: Medical Oncology and Radiation Oncology Referrals

• Cancer Care Program leaders are reminding providers that medical and radiation oncology do not have inpatient consultation services.
• All referrals to medical oncology and radiation oncology must continue to be submitted using the Cancer Care Program Referral Form.
• If you need urgent advice, please contact the oncologist on-call .

CSSP Referrals through Ocean eReferral tool

Did you know that referrals to the WCBNS Centralized Surgical Services Program (CSSP) can be submitted through Ocean?


Look for the 'Workers’ Compensation Board of Nova Scotia – Surgical Referrals (CSSP)' directory on the Ocean healthmap. Referrals sent to this listing go directly to WCBNS for review.


Providers who are onboarded are expected to submit all WCB CSSP forms through the eReferral tool. If your service is not currently included, please fax your referral using the CSSP Referral Form. 

Publication Spotlight: Implementing Virtual Urgent Care Services in Emergency Departments

The Virtual Urgent Nova Scotia (VUNS) program was created to address emergency department (ED) overcrowding and improve access to urgent care. This Nova Scotia Health-led study, recently published in the Canadian Journal of Emergency Medicine, captures perspectives, sentiment and attitudes regarding VUNS implementation from rural ED providers.

Read the study here.


If you have a recent publication you'd like to share with colleagues through this newsletter, please reach out to physiciancomms@nshealth.ca.

South African Physicians Find New Opportunities for Family Life in New Glasgow

South African physicians Drs. Milton Groenewald and Simoné Swigelaar’s boys always wanted to see the snow. Their dream came true this past winter, arriving at Halifax Stanfield International Airport during a snowstorm! It was day one of their new adventure in their new home.



Milton and Simoné are part of a growing contingent of South African physicians who now call Nova Scotia home. Read more about their journey and what they’re loving most about their new life in New Glasgow.

'Foundational' Support for Women In Medicine Community of Practice in Western Zone

The Western Zone Women In Medicine Community of Practice is launching this June, uplifted by funding through the Valley Regional Hospital Foundation and Yarmouth Hospital Foundation. Together, the foundations have generously committed $15,000 ($7,500 each) to support learning, professional development and collaboration for this Nova Scotia Health-driven program.

A community of practice is a group of people who share a common interest, career or passion. The Western Zone (WZ) Women in Medicine community of practice – co-led by physicians Drs. Farrell Nette, Anna Coolen and Shannon Joice and supported by Nova Scotia Health’s Physician Learning, Development & Support team – will provide a safe and collaborative forum for women physicians to discuss complex leadership topics, build community and achieve professional development goals. It builds on a successful Women in Medicine Community of Practice model in Central Zone.

"We are deeply grateful for the generosity and commitment of the Yarmouth Hospital and Valley Regional Hospital foundations in supporting the Women in Medicine Community of Practice. This partnership reflects a shared recognition that empowering physicians – particularly women across all stages of their careers – enhances our healthcare system’s resilience, innovation and quality of care throughout Western Zone," said Dr. Cheryl Pugh, Medical Executive Director, Western Zone.

Read full story here.

Female-identifying physicians in the zone are encouraged to join us for our kickoff event on June 18 from 6:30 p.m.-8:30 p.m. at Maritime Cider Express in Kentville, NS. Learn more and register here. Space is limited – register today to secure your spot!

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