Penn Medicine
Improved Epic EHR Documentation Quality and Efficiency
SUMMARY
The University of Pennsylvania Health System (UPHS) was ready for optimization and to redefine workflow across a broad spectrum of Epic applications. Mediant Health Resources developed and executed a project plan that included curriculum and training protocols to meet the organization’s specific needs. Feedback was overwhelmingly positive, with nearly 100% satisfaction across key metrics at the close of the program.
BACKGROUND
UPHS is a diverse, award-winning research and clinical care organization comprised of six hospitals, ten multispecialty centers, many doctor and clinic sites, and numerous clinical care providers. It operates under the guidance of the Penn Medicine governing board, alongside the Raymond and Ruth Perelman School of Medicine for combined revenues in excess of $6.8 billion.
Penn Medicine uses a wide array of Epic solutions, and after multiple EMR upgrades—going from Epic 2010 to 2012, 2012 to 2014 and then to Epic 2018—UPHS found a need for optimization and redefinition of workflow across the broad spectrum of its Epic applications.
CHALLENGE
A prime challenge of EHR adoption or upgrade for many organizations is effective on-boarding and efficient workflow integration. For the University of Pennsylvania Health System, this meant educating providers on ways to customize its Epic EMR for increased efficiency and improved quality of documentation while also reinforcing standardized workflows for the clinical support staff.
SOLUTION
UPHS searched for a partner that could provide consultants with expertise and experience across a wide number of Epic applications, and these criteria led UPHS to Mediant Health Resources. Mediant was able to leverage numerous veteran consultants, many of whom came from recently completed implementation assignments, in order to meet the health system’s goals.
The UPHS project was executed in stages, beginning with a pilot phase. During the initial stage, Mediant trained 700 providers and the clinical support staff across 13 divisions within the Department of Medicine. Mediant began the process by shadowing providers and assessing their pain points. Armed with a detailed understanding of its struggles, Mediant developed a plan customized to meet the exact needs of the organization.
Mediant’s team of consultants developed and lead the program. They created in-depth workshop curricula and designed discussion points to be delivered during on-the-job support. Next, Mediant scheduled, taught, and tracked a series of training workshops tailored to providers and clinical support members. Finally, Mediant’s consultants provided elbow-to-elbow support for UPHS staff, including tip sheets for all salient topics, ensuring that all personnel were able to integrate learned skills into their day-to-day routine.
RESULTS
The project finished the pilot phase and expanded into MSKR, OB, Department of Surgery and ED within the organization. Due to the optimization effort UPHS providers raised their PEP (Provider Efficiency Profile) scores exceeding the expectations of the health system. Clearly, Mediant Health Resources’ experience, knowledge, and tools properly framed the project and supported its successful adoption, staying on time and within budget. Mediant further distinguished itself with responsiveness to various needs and knowledgeable resources.
Finally, Mediant took a flexible, client-centric approach to billing and invoiced UPHS a flat monthly rate.
This avoided fluctuating monthly costs and made the project easier to manage. Feedback regarding
the project’s effectiveness was overwhelmingly positive.
Using the framework set, Mediant and University of Pennsylvania Health System continued these positive and efficient results through the next phases of the project.
100% of respondents viewed Mediant’s elbow-to-elbow approach as an effective training method and believed that it was a good investment of their time
99% of respondents felt the educator was knowledgeable on the optimization topics
90% of respondents agreed that the material covered helped make providers MORE EFFICIENT and reduced charting time
92% of respondents agreed the workshops were effective at delivering content and a WORTHWHILE USE OF THEIR TIME
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