• Call for Proposals:  2023-24 SMHA AFP Innovation Funds - Aug 21/23 submission internal review deadline
• Reminder: 2022/2023 Annual Activity Reports
• Minimizing delays in pathology results for urgent cases
• Article: A New Approach to M.S. Could Transform Treatment of Other Diseases
• New self-serve IT portal now live: Quickly and easily submit and track IT tickets
• Report suspicious calls to Privacy and Risk

 Dear Colleagues,

We are giving you notice of the request for applications for Round 16 of the AFP Innovation Funds.  As in previous years, we will have an internal review of the Innovation Fund applications in order to optimize the chance for successful applications.  For 2023/2024, the Department of Medicine has been allocated $271,703.49 in total for new projects, after year 2 funding from last year’s approved projects is removed.  We are suggesting a maximum budget per project of $75,000.  We ask that applicants send their complete applications to Jessica Comilang by August 21, 2023. 

This is a reminder that all DoM Active Staff must submit an Annual Activity Report for July 2022 – June 2023.

Please use the WebCV program to generate your annual activity report covering the period July 1, 2022 to June 30, 2023 and forward it to both your Division Head and my office (email to Jessica Comilang [email protected] ) by September 1^st, 2023. 

Please view the attached email 2022/2023 Annual Activity Report for more information and instructions.

Sent On behalf of Dr. Eleanor Latta, Division Head, Pathology

Dear Colleagues,

The Division of Pathology continues to be critically short-staffed in all areas of the lab. Since our last communication in January, we continue to experience significant pathology backlogs and turnaround times. We expect that there will continue to be significant and ongoing delays of surgical pathology, cytology and autopsy results, impacting both the St. Joseph's and St. Michael's sites.

We continue to make all attempts to prioritize STAT and other clinically urgent or time-sensitive specimens.

How you can help:

• Refrain from designating specimens as STAT or RUSH unless there is truly a critical reason (i.e. imminent loss of organ, life or limb) that necessitates reporting within 24-48 hours. Over-use of these terms results in slow-downs for all cases.
• Results for several specimens – including surgical resection specimens – are anticipated to take several weeks. Please schedule follow-up appointments for review of pathology results accordingly.
• REMINDER: It is essential to provide pertinent and accurate clinical history on all surgical pathology and cytopathology requisition forms to enable us to appropriately triage specimens.

Thank you for your co-operation and understanding in these challenging circumstances.

For any questions, please contact Dr. Eleanor Latta, Division Head, Pathology.

A New Approach to M.S. Could Transform Treatment of Other Diseases | The New Yorker

Please take a moment to read the article “A New Approach to M.S. Could Transform Treatment of Other Diseases.”  Featuring Dr. Jiwon Oh

Unity Health has launched a new self-serve IT portal to help staff, physicians and learners submit and manage IT tickets, raise technical requests and search for answers related to common IT questions and concerns. The portal, which supplements our HelpDesk service, is meant to save time when seeking support on non-urgent IT issues and activities, such as password updates and resets. A list of key features can be found in this infographic.

The portal, called ServiceNow, can be accessed via https://uht.service-now.com/ec. This link is also posted on the For Staff page on our Unity Health website and the IT Support, Digital Tools and IT Department pages on UnityNet.

The HelpDesk team will continue to be available via telephone for urgent issues and activities. To reach the HelpDesk at any one of our sites, please use the new harmonized phone number: 416-360-4000, ext. 44357 (iHelp). For non-urgent issues, you can also email the HelpDesk at [email protected].

More information and resources on the new portal can be found on the IT support page on UnityNet.

Patients at one of our St. Michael’s clinics have reported suspicious calls from people claiming to be St. Michael’s physicians, asking for money for reasons unrelated to patient care. Our IT and Privacy and Risk teams are investigating but if you receive any reports of suspicious calls from patients or colleagues, particularly ones where personal health information appears to be involved, please submit a Safety First report and flag for our Privacy and Risk team immediately. Please also remind patients that they should never reply or respond to unexpected messages from unknown sources asking for personal and/or financial information or money, regardless of whether those requests are delivered as texts, emails, advertisements or phone calls.