February 25, 2014

The latest issue of IS Technology News is now available online. Click here to view important technology news and helpful information such as:

  • How IS protects Texas Children’s against cyber security threats (and what you can do at home!)

Recent data breaches by major retailers exposed security vulnerabilities, and put millions of consumers at risk for spam, phishing and malware. Texas Children’s faces similar threats, so Information Services (IS) uses a combination of programs, policies and practices to protect both the organization and its individual employees and patients. In fact, many information security best practices can also protect you at home!

  • The IS Customer Support Portal has a fresh look and helpful new features. Check it out!
  • Enhance security and access to your favorite web sites with an (easy) update to Internet Explorer 8
  • Locked out of your computer? Never again with Password Reset!
  • Windows 7 migration benefits – they’re for everyone!

Please visit the Information Services Connect site for more helpful technology tips, updates and information.

February 10, 2014

Information Services (IS) has scheduled important updates to some systems and applications during the standard monthly downtime scheduled from Friday, February 14, to Sunday, February 16.

During the third weekend each month, IS routinely maintains, tests and upgrades a variety of systems and applications to ensure they are available when needed and perform properly to support Texas Children’s mission. Applications or systems with a greater possibility of impacting users are listed below.

Epic EMR
The Epic Electronic Medical Record (EMR) will be unavailable for about 15 minutes sometime from 1 a.m. to 2:30 a.m. Sunday, February 16, to address hardware issues. We expect the 15 minute downtime to occur at about 2 a.m., however, please be prepared to initiate downtime procedures immediately when the system is unavailable. Communications will be sent to Epic Downtime Leads when the downtime starts. During this downtime (or anytime Epic is unavailable):

  • Visit Connect for details on how to access results, reports and other items
  • Visit Connect for instructions on viewing a full, ‘read-only’ copy of Epic on any workstation
  • Visit Connect for an Epic downtime FAQ.

Workstations
Most Texas Children’s workstations will receive online software updates sometime from 10 p.m. Saturday, February 15, to 10 a.m. Monday, February 17. Visit Connect for schedule details and instructions for optional self-installation.

Workstation update notes:

  • Only a few machines in each area will be updated at the same time.
  • You will see an install notice on the workstation. You can click “OK” to start the update immediately; otherwise, the install will start automatically after 10 minutes.
  • Workstation updates take about one to two hours to install and will restart the machine when done. You can use the workstation during the update, but watch for a warning to shut down before the machine restarts. Remember to save your work often (especially for clinical applications).

Questions?
For questions regarding:

  • Standard monthly downtime, please call the IS Service Desk at Ext. 4-3512 (external 832-824-3512)
  • Epic EMR downtime, please call 4-EPIC at Ext. 4-3742 (external 832-824-3742)