The countdown is over, and I’m so thankful to everyone who made our Epic inpatient go-live successful.
We knew the beginning would feel bumpy. We are encouraged knowing that our go-live was one of the smoothest we have had in the health system (many other hospitals went live before us, so our teams have had lots of practice). Every day we get a little closer to these new workflows and routines feeling more natural. In fact, just this morning, the lab reported that they only had one label printing misalignment yesterday, which was a challenge right after we went live.
We have plenty of people here to support you, and we are still trying to coordinate that support so that it best serves your needs. Each unit and role has specific workflows, so it can take time to find the right expert for your answer. Eventually, you will BE that expert. Until then, I hope you are patient with yourselves and each other and escalate any major concerns or questions to 23-EPIC.
I’ve already heard a few stories about how Epic helps us provide better care for our patients by making your work more straightforward:
- One nurse let us know that she can see the whole care team clearly in the system. Do you remember how challenging that was just a week ago?
- The work of our transporters significantly changed with Epic. Not only can they receive and accept jobs more quickly, but they can also see information about the patient ahead of time that helps them prepare—for example, what language the patient speaks.
- Before Epic, the transporters had to go to the ED to get handwritten medication orders, bring the medication order to the pharmacy to fill it, and then travel back to the ED with the medication. With Epic, the team is more connected, and transporters can see the orders directly. This eases their workflow by allowing them to go directly to the pharmacy, reducing transport time.
- Pharmacy and nursing communication greatly improved with Epic, allowing nurses to get missing medications more efficiently.
We will discover many more benefits on our journey with Epic. I’m grateful for your persistence, patience, and creativity as we make this transition.
You can see more photos and videos of our teams on Epic this week on Instagram.