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Clinician News
Launch Alerts- HMH Pharmacy Inventory Management Launches Monday, Oct. 25
Epic Updates
For Everyone
Houston Methodist Earns Epic Recognition
Gold Stars Level 9
For the second consecutive year, HM has been recognized by Epic Corp. as Gold Stars level 9. This achievement is based on our adoption of more than 700 Epic tools and functionality, including the patient experience, patient access, physician and nursing productivity and mobility. Only 41 (11%) of Epic customers worldwide have achieved Gold Stars level 9 status and only six (2%) have reached level 10. “Achieving Gold Stars level 9 is an incredible recognition of the strong collaborative environment we enjoy with our care teams and operational partnership systemwide,” said Ken Letkeman, HM SVP and chief information officer. “Together, we consistently seek opportunities to improve our Epic system and provide the most
efficient and effective electronic health record to support patient care and operations.” Among our recent Epic milestones: - More than 1.4 million patients have an HM MyChart account, including 935,000 active patients and/or proxies.
- More than half of all patients (56.4%) seen in the last year logged into MyChart at least once.
- More than 22 million patient records have been sent to other organizations and more than 15 million records received.
For Everyone
Community Connect Launches for Second Wave of Practices On Monday, Aug. 23, HM’s Community Connect program successfully launched at two HM-affiliated physician practices. Community Connect allows providers to purchase our best-in-class Epic EHR and practice management system to use in their practices, helping their providers and staff provide seamless patient care and transforming their care delivery process. The next group of practices is scheduled to launch in October. Congratulations to the IT teams who’ve worked diligently to make this a success!
For Everyone
Data Security @ Home and WorkWe all work hard to keep our patient and employee data safe, but how are you keeping your personal data safe at home? Read this article from CIO Quarterly Report to learn how you can implement some of the same safety measures we take at work, in your home, too.
For All Vocera Users
Vocera Badge Tips
Set Reminders for Yourself and Others
Your hands-free Vocera badge lets you set reminders for yourself and others. Remember to stay HIPAA-safe, because all Vocera communications are on speaker. Set a self-reminder: Say "Record a voice reminder." Set a reminder for others: Say "Record a voice reminder for _______ [first and last name]." You can set these reminders for up to three people. You can also record future reminders to send at a certain time or repeat on a schedule you set, as well as urgent reminders.
Set for a specific time: Say, "At 4 p.m. today," or "15 minutes from now." Set to repeat: Say, "Every 30 minutes for the next two hours." You can set reminders to repeat from a minimum of five minutes to 24 hours. Set an urgent reminder for yourself: Say, "Record an urgent voice reminder." Set an urgent reminder for others: Say," Record an urgent voice reminder for ______ [first and last name]." For more information, review this tip sheet or visit it.houstonmethodist.org/vocera.
For HMH and HMB Specimen Scanning Users
HMH and HMB Barcode Specimen Scanning: We Want Your Feedback Barcode Specimen Scanning has launched at HMH and HMB, and we need your feedback. If you were part of either one of these launches, please take a minute to complete the survey using this link. Your input will be used to help improve the tool and processes going forward. All responses are completely anonymous. For more information and tip sheets,
visit it.houstonmethodist.org/specimenscanning.
For Pharmacists, Pharmacy Techs and Buyers
HMH Pharmacy Inventory Management Launches Monday, Oct. 25
Online Training: Aug. 30 - Sept. 10
Virtual Instructor-Led Training: Aug. 31 - Sept. 2 Pharmacy Inventory Management launches at HMH on Monday, Oct. 25 for pharmacists, pharmacy techs and buyers, and will continue rolling out systemwide over the next few months. This new system provides efficiencies for drug inventory procurement and management by increasing inventory visibility, accurately charging for high-cost medications and minimizing drug shortages and obsolete stock. It will result in an estimated $5.8 million per year in inventory savings for HM. Required LMS training – deadline, Friday, Sept.
10
Required LMS online training (Epic Willow Pharmacy Inventory Training for Pharmacists and Pharmacy Techs – course #1594045) will be assigned to pharmacists and pharmacy techs on Aug. 30. Online training takes place Aug. 30 - Sept. 10.
Buyers – required LMS and instructor-led training
Buyers, please complete two trainings, LMS online training (Epic Willow Inventory Rover Training – course #1597021) and one instructor-led. Register now for a virtual instructor-led course in LMS (Epic Willow Pharmacy Inventory Training for Buyers – course #1594022). These classes will take place as follows: - Tuesday, Aug. 31, 9 - 11 a.m.
- Wednesday, Sept. 1, 1 - 3 p.m.
- Thursday, Sept. 2, 5 - 7 p.m.
For All Epic Users
Epic Update: Sunday, Oct. 24 The next Epic Update is Sunday, Oct. 24. This Update includes new features and enhancements, including a new Behavioral Health module in Epic, changes to Secure Chat and Epic department name changes for HMB from HMSJ. To learn about the changes for your role, view your Update Companion available in Learning Home (press F1 while in Epic) or visit it.houstonmethodist.org/epicupdate.
For All Epic Users
Epic System Pause
Wednesday, Sept. 1 from 8 to 8:05 p.m.Epic will experience a brief “system pause” for up to five minutes at 8 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 1. - If you’re logged in to Epic during the pause, a pop-up screen will appear, advising you that the pause is taking place. You won’t be able to proceed until the pause is complete. When the pop-up screen disappears, you can resume work where you left off, without any data loss.
- Vitals and data will be stored during the pause and will flow into Epic after the
pause.
- If you attempt to login to Epic during the pause, you’ll be able to enter your user ID and password, but Epic won’t fully open until the pause is complete.
If you have any issues, please contact the IT Help Desk.
For All Secure Chat Users
Block Secure Chat Messages in One-on-One Conversations
Effective Thursday, Sept. 2Starting Thursday, Sept. 2, changing your Secure Chat status to Unavailable prevents anyone from sending you messages in one-on-one conversations. This also prevents you from sending Secure Chat messages. This change mitigates some liability concerns for not responding to messages when you’re not available – they simply can’t be sent to you. Note: messages can still be sent to you in group messages (three or more chat participants) or when you are forwarding your messages.
For All Schedulers and PAS Teams
New Lung Cancer Screening Scheduling Process
Effective Tuesday, Aug. 31 On Tuesday, Aug. 31, a new lung cancer screening scheduling process will streamline your current workflow and reduce manual processes. Starting Aug. 31, after the ordering provider places the Lung Cancer Screening (LCS) order, and the patient calls an HM facility to schedule LCS: - Scheduler verifies the order. Note: This order can now be accepted in the ordering provider's preferred format. It no longer has to be submitted on the
HM LCS form.
- If the order isn’t in Epic:
- Scheduler transcribes the order and documents answers to LCS questions.
- To proceed, all questions must be answered to determine patient eligibility.
- If the order is in Epic:
- Scheduler
confirms the order and verifies patient’s answers to LCS questions.
- If the patient meets criteria: Schedule the LCS appointment.
- If the patient doesn’t meet criteria: Don’t schedule the LCS appointment.
For Floating Employees and Managers of Floaters Needing Epic Access
Floater Fast Track CoursesIf an employee is floating to another department to help with COVID-19, here are the steps to take to secure additional Epic access. For Managers (either the floating employee’s manager or the department manager where the employee will work): - Complete this request form as soon as you know someone will need Epic access.
- If you have multiple floating employees, attach a spreadsheet with all required information.
- Submit the form(s) to the IT Help Desk with COVID-19 Epic Floater Access Request as the subject line.
For Employees: - Complete and pass the required online or WebEx training.
- Click here for course information.
- Note: If you currently have view-only Epic access and are floating to a new role, you must complete an Epic New Hire training course. It is not sufficient to take a floater fast track course. Epic access will be granted after form submission and training are complete.
Important Note:
Nurses and clinicians in the following areas have already received expanded access for ED, ICU and Inpatient Med/Surg tools in Epic. - Anesthesiologists (IP only)
- Cardiology Nurses
- ED Nurses and Managers
- Midlevels, including PAs, NPs and CRNAs
- Inpatient Nurses (ICU and Med/Surg)
- OB, L&D, Nursery and Postpartum Nurses
- Oncology Nurses
- OR and Periop Nurses
- PCAs (access for ED if not already in IP)
- Radiology Nurses
- UAAs
Planned Downtimes or MaintenancesIf you experience issues during a planned maintenance, including missing computer icons or shared drives, please be patient and restart your computer. To ensure minimal impact, save your work often, before and during any planned maintenance.
Thursday, Aug. 26, 10 p.m. – midnight
Tuesday, Aug. 31, 10 p.m. – midnight Be prepared for intermittent or no access. Follow your department’s standard downtime procedures.
Saturday, Aug. 28, 11 p.m. –
Sunday, Aug. 29, 6 a.m. LMS won't be available due to maintenance.
Tuesday, Aug. 31, 3 – 4 a.m. PerfectServe's Care Team and Practitioner apps (mobile and web-based) will experience a brief downtime for system maintenance. During this outage, you may be dropped from voice calls and will need to reconnect.
Wednesday, Sept. 1, 8 – 8:05 p.m. Epic will experience a brief “system pause” for up to five minutes at 8 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 1.
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