Beginning Monday, May 5, Mercy Harbor will transition from legacy virtual visit tools to a unified telehealth platform across all outpatient and specialty clinics. This memo outlines what is changing, what is required of you, and the training you will need to complete before go-live.

01 · The Platform

After a nine-month evaluation involving clinical informatics, IT security, and pilot cohorts from Cardiology and Behavioral Health, the Executive Committee has approved the adoption of Amwell Converge as our enterprise telehealth solution. The platform integrates directly with Epic, supports asynchronous messaging, and replaces the three disparate tools currently in rotation.

Amwell Converge

Epic-integrated, BAA-covered, and configured for our existing scheduling and billing workflows. Patients will access visits through MyChart without downloading a separate application.

Vendor

American Well

Contract Term

36 months

02 · HIPAA & Compliance Requirements

Every provider conducting a telehealth visit is personally accountable for maintaining PHI confidentiality. The following non-negotiable standards apply from day one:

Private Clinical Environment Visits must occur in a closed-door setting. No shared workstations, public networks, or hallway consults.

Institutional Devices Only Personal phones and tablets are not permitted. Use Mercy-issued laptops with full-disk encryption.

Verbal Consent, Documented Obtain and chart consent to treat virtually at the start of each initial encounter using the .TELECONSENT smart phrase.

No Third-Party Tools FaceTime, Zoom, WhatsApp, and SMS are prohibited for any clinical communication, effective May 5.

Recording Policy Sessions are not recorded by default. Any recording requires written patient authorization and Legal review.

Incident Reporting Suspected breaches must be reported to the Privacy Office within one (1) hour of discovery via the HALO portal.

03 · Training Schedule

Training is mandatory. Completion is tracked in HealthStream and credentialing will hold pending certification. Department heads: please confirm your staff assignments to Clinical Education by April 4.

APR
14

Monday12:00 – 1:30 PM

Platform overview, MyChart handoff, and visit workflows

All Providers

APR
17

Thursday7:30 – 9:00 AM

HIPAA refresher & platform-specific privacy controls

All Providers

APR
22

Tuesday1:00 – 3:00 PM

Super-user certification & escalation protocols

Dept. Leads

APR
28

MondayAll day, drop-in

Open lab: practice visits with standardized patients

Optional

MAY
01

Thursday6:00 – 7:00 PM

Final Q&A with CMO, CMIO, and Privacy Officer

All Staff

May 2025

Enterprise Go-Live

Legacy tools decommissioned at 06:00 EST.

All scheduled virtual visits from this date forward will route exclusively through Amwell Converge. A 24/7 command center staffed by IT and Clinical Informatics will operate for the first ten days.

04 · What I Need From You

Acknowledge receipt of this memo by March 21. Reply via secure email to [email protected].

Submit training roster for your department by April 4. Include coverage plans for providers attending the April 22 super-user session.

Complete all required HealthStream modules by May 2. Credentialing holds begin May 3 for non-compliant staff.

Identify one departmental super-user. This individual will serve as the front-line resource for your team during the go-live window.

Eleanor Whitfield

Dr. Eleanor Whitfield, MD, MPH Chief Medical Officer, Mercy Harbor Health System

Questions & Escalations Clinical Informatics — Dr. Marcus Reyes
[email protected] · ext. 4821
Privacy Office — Jennifer Ogundimu, JD
[email protected] · ext. 4100