Caregivers from Across UH Participate in Epic Build

The UH Epic program is now well into the phase when we take the foundation system purchased from Epic and configure it to meet the needs of our organization

UH Clinical Update | December 2021

After a successful kickoff in October, the UH Epic electronic health record (EHR) program is now well underway. While our team of IT professionals have geared up for the road ahead by earning Epic accreditations and learning the ins and outs of the EHR, UH caregivers have been working alongside them to ensure that the program is conducted from a clinical, revenue cycle, and operational perspective.

The UH Epic program is now well into the “design and build” phase—the timeframe when we take the foundation system purchased from Epic and configure it to meet the needs of our organization. A critical component to this build is the insight and input provided by over 1,000 UH caregivers from various disciplines throughout our system. These individuals—including clinical caregivers, representatives from scheduling, registration and billing, and many more—serve on designated workgroups to provide input from their specific role or perspective. As these councils and work groups make decisions around workflows and process, they get configured onto the Epic platform. This iterative process will continue through the spring of 2022.

This is just the first step in the process of ensuring that UH caregivers are at the helm of this massive undertaking. In addition to those serving on dozens of advisory councils and workgroups, the UH Epic program will incorporate individuals from throughout our system to serve as contributors to our education development and delivery, help facilitate end user education, and serve as Super Users in their designated departments. This methodology is intended to ensure that our caregivers are provided support throughout the implementation and beyond by those who know first-hand how our system works.

According to a previous systemwide survey, more than 5,000 clinicians reported various levels of Epic experience, and approximately 2,000 respondents said they were interested in participating in the Epic project. Both of these factors will prove essential in our success as we head toward our multi-phase go-live.

In the coming months, more information will be available for UH caregivers who have interest in being involved further in the Epic program. For the latest information, visit the UH Epic Community site on the UH Digital Workplace at uhcommunity.uhhospitals.org/Epic.