Here's the Problem
When you implemented Epic, you took every feature, focused on best practices and made sure that the workflows were in tune with the way your staff worked (or should work). Like everything in the tech world, however, things change fast. Whether you implemented 20 years ago or six months ago, there are bound to be best practices that have changed or features that have been improved.
Completing your Epic upgrade or taking all relevant release notes is rarely enough because it doesn't go that one step further and analyze how or why improvements need to be made. For example, you may be thinking, “The workflow worked three years ago, so why is it broken now? This recommended new feature seems like it should help us but is causing nothing but strain.” Here are a few more challenges we've seen at healthcare organizations:
- Best practices used by health organizations of similar size/region are unknown to you.
- It’s challenging to understand the difference between true pain points felt by many versus squeaky wheels.
- You may know the problem, but do you know what the problem is costing you? How much would the solution cost? How is it prioritized within the other problems within that department?
What's the Solution?
At the very least, be consoled by the fact that this problem happens for every healthcare organization, and there is always room for improvement in EHR performance. Epic-experienced third parties can help analyze your Epic current state and show you what it will take to get you where you want to be. By bringing in a group of consultants, you get the scope of their experiences as an unbiased third party. Some of the ways they are able to help include:
- Analyzing system features, workflows, and training practices. You can trust the information is delivered without internal biases.
- They bring with them best practices they've learned by working with numerous other clients. Their breadth of experience makes them uniquely positioned to educate you on industry best practices.
- By incorporating return on investment in their prioritized lists, they can clearly and succinctly paint the picture of the cost of the pain versus the cost of a solution.
Keeping your system up-to-date with fresh new features and satisfied end users can be challenging. Let us work with you to take the first step toward improvement. If you’re interested in an optimization assessment, let’s talk.
