Triyam’s CEO was recently given the opportunity to participate in an expert round-up of the new EMR by Epic. This content was specifically geared towards this particular system, but his peers offered up a plethora of valuable insight that could easily be applied to rolling out any new EMR system.
We’re excited to share this insight with you here today in hopes of making your next transition as smooth as possible.
The Planning Phase is Key
The ever-wise Epic EMR Security Coordinator, Amit Haror says she learned just how important the planning process is while implementing Epic at Mackenzie Health, which makes perfect sense.
You wouldn’t run a marathon without proper shoes and hydration. You wouldn’t wait until the day before moving to start packing. The same mentality should be applied when making any sort of IT system change.
Transfer Relevant Data & Archive the Rest
Regardless of how much we’ve talked about it, there’s still a large number of hospitals and providers who assume their patient data will automatically be transferred to their new EHR.
However, this isn’t the case in the majority of instances. By the time they realize this, all budget is burnt out for implementation. This requires them to continue paying annual support fees to the legacy EHR in order to retain access to historic information.
Take our word for it, running two systems isn’t fun for anyone involved. Archival of the historic medical and financial information in the old system is always the right solution in these situations.
Include the Right People
Hibah Khan, an Epic Certified Application Specialist at St. Joseph Healthcare in Ontario, pointed out that one of the biggest oversights when implementing a new system is involving all of the necessary stakeholders.
The behind-the-scene staff like your finance and coding teams, need to be kept in the loop from day one. This will ensure a smoother workflow and implementation process.
Taking it a step further, Karthik Seshan of The Hospital for Sick Children recommends forming a project committee. This should consist of all the key clinical leaders, which helps keep everyone informed and on the same page.
Empower Users
A little goes a long way in making end users feel comfortable operating any new system. Ashley Ssali, Support Analyst for Epic said this can be accomplished by combining two very important factors; transparency and practice.
Transparency aids with the progression of the project because everyone knows it’s coming and what to look out for. Practice allows users to ask questions or provide feedback prior to going live. This helps with “final touches” to workflows and within the system.
It’s also important to learn from other users and/or organizations that have implemented similar systems. This allows you to modify your workflow and avoid the same issues.
In conclusion, whether you’re in the middle of a migration, looking at new systems, or just filing this back for use in the far future, I hope the words of these knowledgeable subject matter experts have helped you in your journey!