Supporting providers. Navigating patient care.
Imagine an airplane pilot stepping into a cockpit and being uncomfortable with operating the plane or not fully understanding how to use its technology. This would not only impact the pilot’s ability to navigate the plane, but it would also impact passenger safety.
The same is true with the technology and tools our providers use. Providers must understand and be comfortable with using tools like Epic, so they can efficiently navigate patients along their health care journeys and provide safe, seamless patient care.
To support this, providers are getting help through Houston Methodist-provided resources like the Epic Physician Builders program, physician support coordinators and the new Epic Thrive team. These resources are helping to improve provider satisfaction, reduce burnout and facilitate better patient care.
Building a better Epic.
Physicians want what’s best for their patients. To provide the best care, they need confidence in the technology they’re using, including Epic.
This is where the Epic Physician Builders program comes into play — it’s a group of Epic-certified physicians, representing different specialties. These physicians are passionate about technology and uncovering the most efficient ways providers can leverage tools, like Epic. They use Epic every day, while caring for their own patients, but also gather feedback from colleagues within their specialties.
Through their hands-on patient-care experiences and colleagues’ feedback, they then partner with IT teams to provide real-time insights on what physicians need most from Epic — acting as liaisons between their colleagues and IT. This physician-IT partnership helps us provide better Epic tools, on an ongoing basis, so they can provide better patient care.
“When pilots learn to fly a specific plane, they learn from other skilled pilots who’ve flown that plane before and are familiar with it,” said Dr. Jordan Dale, HM chief medical information officer.
“These skilled pilots understand how to communicate, educate and support aviation technology mastery, to maintain an exemplary safety and training culture. Our Epic Physician Builders program is similar.”
“Each specialty has unique needs and interests,” said Dr. Dale. “Our Physician Builders are from different specialties; they understand the specific needs of colleagues within their same specialty or a similar one and can provide the best support.”
“I encourage any physician who’s interested in becoming an Epic Physician Builder to reach out to me,” said Dr. Dale. “You can help make Epic better for the physicians in your specialty.”
More efficiency. More focus on patient care.
While physician builders help improve Epic workflows by bridging the gap between physicians and IT, physician support coordinators and the new Epic Thrive team provide one-one-on support to physicians, so they can use Epic more efficiently and focus more on direct patient care.
Each campus has a dedicated physician support coordinator who also helps support ambulatory providers. They help providers with Epic and other key technologies, like Epic mobile solutions.
“Many physicians don’t realize how Epic mobile solutions, Haiku and Canto, can impact their on- and off-site clinical workflows,” said Jason Reynolds, HMSL physician support coordinator. “We can help physicians quickly install Haiku/Canto on their smart devices and show them how to use its functionality. It’s fast, easy and helps ensure quicker turnarounds for a better patient care experience.”
Another way physician support coordinators are helping providers work more efficiently is through Epic personalization. Nham V. Pham, HMWB physician support coordinator explained, “When I spend 30 minutes to an hour upfront, helping a physician personalize Epic, it saves them hours of time in the long run with the things they do routinely.” This at-the-elbow support and personalization has resulted in less time documenting and more time with patients.
Niyi Oni, HMH physician support coordinator added, “We’re helping our physicians use technologies, Epic, Haiku, Canto, Secure Chat and Dragon Medical One, more efficiently. The majority of our physicians have expressed gratitude for the in-person support we provide and all of its benefits.”
Epic Thrive is a newly developed team, with representatives covering each region. They’re focused on helping ambulatory providers navigate, utilize and document in Epic through one-on-one sessions.
“Our team helps physicians become more Epic efficient, including finding the best ways to utilize SmartTools to standardize practices, based on their clinic workflows,” said Haani Syeda, program director, the Epic Thrive program. “This helps them document visits more quickly and efficiently, giving them more time to focus on their patients.”
The Epic Thrive team was established in May, but they’re already receiving great feedback. “Physicians are really excited about this new level of support,” said Syeda. “We’ve received comments like, ‘I’ve learned a lot and am becoming more efficient, which is helping me spend more time with my patients’ and, ‘Your team is changing my life!’ It really keeps us going, because we know we’re making a difference in the lives of both our physicians and patients.”
This one-on-one support helps team members identify what’s important to each physician and provide more tailored support. “I always ask providers what they want to change most about their Epic experience and to tell me their biggest pain points,” said Andrea Kwartler, senior Epic optimization consultant. “Some want to finish certain tasks by end of day, and some prefer to review patient histories in the evening, before the next day’s appointments. Whatever the preference, we want to make sure they accomplish their goals, in the most efficient way possible, and reduce burnout.”
Kwartler also said, “Physicians want to do a thorough job and not cut corners. Our team is here to help them efficiently complete all the important details, so they can still go home at a normal hour to spend time with their families.”
Dr. Dale stated, “When physicians spend 30 minutes with one of our physician support coordinators or Epic Thrive team members, I’m confident they’ll earn that time back within a week. It will help them become more efficient with some of their more repetitive Epic tasks and save them valuable time in the long run.
“There’s no better feeling than efficiently utilizing all the systems and processes available, combined with clinical knowledge and training, to achieve the best outcomes for your patients,” said Dr. Dale. “By leveraging each of these HM-provided resources, we can help ensure all our providers are comfortable with using Epic and working efficiently, so they can spend more time focusing on their patients.”