Stair: Welcome back to the first Post Go-Live episode of The Epic Guys. We made it.
Stu: Yep.
Stair: Not too many scars and bruises.
Stu: Nope.
Stair: Great. So that’s right. All of our St. Vincent’s hospitals and clinics are now on Epic. That’s 7,000 staff and about 1,400 providers, with hundreds of people in the command center and clinical areas helping everybody get through the first few weeks. It’s really exciting, but as you know, Stu, once you deliver the baby, that’s when the work really begins. So that’s what we say here on The Epic Guys. We have a lot going on to optimize the system, fix issues, and help providers improve their workflows.
Stu: Yep, and we’ve learned a lot. For today’s episode, we’re going to give you a special “3 Tips in 3 Minutes” on how to succeed in Epic at go-live.
Stair: Okay, here we go.
Tip #1: Preparation in the System Is Critical
It was really clear from day one. Providers who spent time setting up their favorite labs and imaging orders, notes, and personalized order sets had a much easier time in the first few days.
Being able to do all your work from your favorites is so much easier. If you plan on showing up cold with no personalization, you’re just going to have more trouble as you hunt, peck, and search for each separate order on every patient.
There are definitely still going to be some orders you have to search for, but starting with a 90% foundation of your common favorites is a huge advantage.
Stu: This is why we require User Settings for every provider. Take advantage of this time and the resources available to help you during class, and you will be much happier on day one.
Tip #2: Register for Wave 2 Training Early
Feedback on Epic-led training was excellent, with a 90% overall rating. But we had a lot of providers who delayed or didn’t complete their training, and by the time they tried to sign up, there were no classes left. Epic training requires providers to complete their e-learning videos and test assessment, along with the in-class training. Those who didn’t finish had to scramble to get access at the last minute, which created a lot of stress for patient care and staff.
Stair: You know, our Specialty Trainers really had a huge impact by being at the elbow during classes. This is where you want to take advantage. You’ve got a lot of resources in the classes where you can really maximize your learning, so don’t miss out.
Tip #3: Be Patient
This is probably the most important tip of all. It just takes time to adapt to a new system, especially when our brains have gotten used to the old one for the last decade. There will be days when you want to pull your hair out, and that’s just normal with a new system. We are fixing more and more issues every day, many of which we couldn’t really have known about until we went live.
Stu: Yeah, look for the small wins every day and make sure you get help for things that are driving you crazy. After six months, when a large majority of patients are in the system, things will settle down and you’ll start to enjoy the benefits of interoperability across all of our hospitals and clinics, the AI features that will make your life easier, and the favorite orders and preferences you’ll have.
So, hang in there. Every day will get better, and before long we’ll be humming in the new system and helping patients stay healthy together.
Stair: See you next time.
