How Outside Partners are Changing Epic Implementations for the Better

In many instances, the transition to Epic has CIOs considering partners for implementation responsibilities, legacy EHR management, or both. And for good reason. Consider these case studies knowing IT departments transitioning from one EHR to another must maintain the current system and build, implement, and test the new system, infrastructure, and integrations — often with the same resources that were once assigned to maintenance of a soon-to-be legacy EHR.  

Case Study 1: When Interface Integration Overwhelmed at a Heart Hospital 

For Oklahoma Heart Hospital (OHH), a challenge for the new CIO was to ensure that the new Epic system could integrate seamlessly with the hospital’s existing infrastructure, which included 128 different interfaces. After determining they needed additional expertise to complete interface integration in the time allotted for the project, OHH combined their team’s know-how with interface experts. By involving a partner, they brought the right skills together for building complex interface integrations and helped ensure a smooth transition to the new system on an impressive timeline. Read more in our Partnership for Interface Optimization case study. 

Case Study 2: When Epic Go-Live Staffing Plan was 160% of Budget for an Acquisition Project 

Another health system’s staffing plan to support the Epic EHR go-live in two newly acquired hospitals was 160% of their allocated budget for the project. They needed to find a way to keep at-the-elbow support costs within budget. 

A redesigned support solution aligned the staffing plan to meet the support criteria and the budget. Key to the success were: 

• Staffing Coordinator on site for the go live. The coordinator worked with all support and command center personnel. Staff were redeployed as needed to areas requiring assistance. This allowed the go-live support personnel to cover both of the hospitals 24/7.  
• Tapered support model. Over the two week go-live period, the support plan included coverage for their specialty areas and hospital outpatient departments. Then it tapered off as support needs changed when users became more confident.  
• Backfill and skill gap management. A customized go-live staffing plan included consideration for covering specialized roles for Beaker, ClinDoc, Willow, Ambulatory, MyChart, HIM, and other Epic resources for go-live specific initiatives and coverage for backfill positions. 

The go-live support plan provided the right level of support at 60% less than their initial projections. Read more in our Creative Staffing Coordination for Budget Friendly Epic Implementations case study. 

Case Study 3: When Transitioning to Epic at an Acquired Hospital 

A different hospital system was on MEDITECH and Soarian when they were acquired. It was decided the hospital system would be moved to Epic and the IT staff would not be certified or receive Epic module training (other than end user training) prior to go-live. This model posed many challenges for the hospital due to a lack of Epic knowledge. Highly experienced, skilled, and certified technical and clinical operations advisors assisted with planning, implementing, assessing, training, and more. Some of their duties included: 

• Epic acquisition planning. Aided executive leadership during high level decisions and negotiation points that were foundational to ultimate success. 
• Epic tool and template review. Assessed the project charter and timeline to identify missing information and details or steps to help finalize the project schedule. 
• General project advising and involvement. Attended and conducted meetings to advise on actions to ensure go-live readiness for providers, critical hospital staff, and those involved with revenue processes. 

General project advising, hospital outpatient department support, provider engagement planning, and clinical operational readiness assessment were also part of the partnership. Read more in the Epic Advisory Services: an Acquisition and Install Story case study. 

What about your organization? Questions to assess your Epic implementation readiness. 

It’s a complicated undertaking made more manageable by involving experts who have navigated multiple Epic implementation scenarios with success. Use these questions to help determine if your implementation could benefit from partnership. 

1. Do you have a team who is experienced with Epic implementations?  
2. Do you have enough resource hours in the week to handle the increased demand?  
3. Are your team and PMO/project managers aware of Epic terminology and methodology?  
4. Has your leadership team been looped in and are they staying informed with IT’s progress? 
5. If you are being acquired, do you understand what moving to Epic will mean for your operations team along with your IT organization?  
6. How do you plan to navigate the changes, ensure services and workflows are considered, and ready your users for the transition? 
7. Are you familiar with Epic’s scope of support for the installation process? 
8. Are you familiar with your organization’s responsibilities that fall outside of Epic’s scope for implementing? 
9. Are you prepared for the impact implementing Epic will have on your hospital policies, procedures, and revenue workflows?  

Role Clarity Fuels Epic Implementation Success 

Working with the software vendor, your organization’s experts, and a partner with Epic implementation expertise can be just the combination of perspectives you need. See a summarization of each stakeholder’s perspective below and consider the role each type of contributor could play in your organization’s Epic journey.

For more details, please see the full Different Healthcare IT Perspectives infographic.