Question

what is epic information system and how is it used?

Answer 1

      EPIC INFORMATION SYSTEM

               Epic Systems is a large, privately held health IT company best known for its electronic health record system. Epic is an electronic health record system (EHR) and company that develops software to help people get well, stay well, and help future generations be healthier. Known as one of the leading EHR vendors in the US, Epic has over 190 million patients with a current electronic record in the system.

              Some of the nation's largest and most prestigious hospitals and health systems use Epic's EHR system, including Oakland, Calif.-based Kaiser Permanente, Cleveland Clinic, Johns Hopkins Medicine in Baltimore, UCLA Health in Los Angeles, Arlington-based Texas Health Resources, Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, Mount Sinai Health System in New York City and Duke University Health System in Raleigh, N.C. In total, Epic has 297 customers, and 70 percent of HIMSS Analytics Stage 7 hospitals use the EpicCare inpatient EHR system.

Definition:

              Epic Systems is one of the largest providers of health information technology, used primarily by large U.S. hospitals and health systems to access, organize, store and share electronic medical records.

               Epic was founded in 1979 by computer scientist Judy Faulkner, who coded the original Epic software.

                The purpose of Epic is to give patients the tools to lead a healthier life. With MyChart, patients have access to personal and family health information. They can message their doctors, attend e-visits, complete questionnaires, schedule appointments, and have more involvement in managing their health when and where it’s most convenience for them. While in the hospital, patients can stay in touch with their care team by using the MyChart tablet, which also can be used to personalize educational materials.

Epic’s software is most commonly used in:

Community hospitals

Academic medical centres

Children’s organizations

Retail clinics (such as CVS Health)

Multi-specialty groups

Integrated delivery networks

Rehab centres

Skilled nursing facilities

Hospice care facilities

Independent practices

Patient homes and “on-the-go” mobile version.

• Epic used to gives Methodist healthcare providers immediate access to real-time patient information, our efficiency and ability to provide the best care are dramatically increased.

• coordinating patient care involved locating records, charts or notes from different hospital departments and physicians. Now, all of Methodist clinicians can access the exact information they need, when they need it.

• It’s easy to see, for example, how much more effectively this will enable physicians to manage patients with chronic diseases.

• ·Overall, a consolidated patient medical record that includes information about the patient across clinical areas allows decisions to be made more quickly, and hand-offs from one to the next or one unit to another to be smoother, reducing the likelihood of errors.

• Having vital patient information instantly at the fingertips of hospital admissions personnel, physicians and nurses facilitates faster submission and turnaround of medication orders, enables lab staff to process specimens more quickly, and means that emergency department waits can be significantly reduced. At the patient’s bedside, nurses and doctors can spend less time documenting care and more time giving care.

• Epic will also used to help both the physician and the hospital facilitate patient wellness and prevention efforts. Physicians will have access to evidence-based medical information, patients will be able to access educational materials online, and doctors will be able to direct patients to appropriate screening and diagnostic procedures. For example, Epic will allow a physician to identify patients over age 50 that have never had a colonoscopy so that these patients can be encouraged to schedule this recommended procedure.

• One of Epic’s greatest advantages is that it helps to enable all patients to become more active participants in their own care.

• Patients can authorize any provider to view their record in Epic and to send progress notes back.

• Share Everywhere will allow patients to grant access to their data to any providers who have internet access, even if they don’t have EHRs. In addition, using Share Everywhere, a provider granted access can send a progress note back to the patient’s healthcare organization for improved continuity of care.

• organizations using Care Everywhere exchange two million patient records per day with Epic and non-Epic systems.

         

• Epic is the only major EHR vendor that has 100% of its health system customers interoperable with each other, other EHRs, government organizations and other national networks. Still, a challenge remained: how to send important patient information to clinicians who cannot interoperate, and how to do so in a way that protects patients’ privacy.

• Through Share Everywhere, patients will be able to use their smartphones to direct a view of their Epic chart in minutes to any clinician, anywhere in the world. Because the patient determines who gets access, the patient’s privacy is protected. In addition, Epic records all access.

• Share Everywhere is ready for use now and will be available to the Epic community at no cost in the November update of Epic’s patient portal, MyChart.

Key products and services

Epic Systems' offerings integrate across a variety of settings and functions. Here are some of the company's prominent products and services:

1. EpicCare, the core EHR product, is tailored for physicians and organizations and focuses on clinical care, decision support and streamlined processes.

2. MyChart provides patient engagement features, including family health information.

3. Healthy Planet uses data interoperability to boost population health management efforts.

4. Revenue cycle management software helps handle patient claims and billing.

5. Tapestry addresses managed care activities.

6. Mobile interfaces -- including Haiku for smartphones, Canto for tablets and Limeric for the Apple Watch -- aid patient care via mobile devices.

COVID-19 Response

              In 2020, the novel coronavirus pandemic spread in the United States. Epic Systems faced considerable criticism for their decision to require 10,000 employees to work on-campus instead of from home. Employees expressed concern about returning to the office, with the first group being required to return as early as August 10th while the pandemic continued to spread. The decision came despite a Dane County public health order requiring remote work "to the greatest extent possible. Criticism revolved in particular around the fact that employees were being ordered back to preserve the company "culture," despite CEO Judy faulkners admission that work was getting done remotely. According to the the capital times; who interviewed 26 Epic employees about the plan, "13 [employees] said they have knowledge of managers being demoted for expressing concern about the company’s plans to bring its nearly 10,000 workers back" to on-campus work, and all requested anonymity for fear of employer retribution.

In a survey of Epic employees, 89% of employees expressed dissatisfaction with how Epic was handling the pandemic.

CONCLUSION:

    One of EPIC’s most attractive features is its ability to enhance patient safety and make immediate treatment adjustments, especially through balanced Reminders, hard stops, and tickler systems. Even end-users find these features annoying and disruptive. On the other hand, repeated and ceaseless reminders may be perceived by providers as a distraction, if not outright harassment, and lead to extreme dissatisfaction, frustration, and aggravation by providers who are attending to a myriad of other things. The same might be said of turning healthcare providers into data entry clerks forced to labor away into the wee after-hours traversing and overcoming hard-stop barriers and fill templates satisfactorily to complete their medical record documentation responsibilities on top of substantial clinical practice demands.