Epic

If you have a large customer base as we do (Storing patient records as well as family members/legal guardians for some modules) Epic is right for you! Epic has features such as MyChart which has been an incredible customer-facing tool to allow for a better customer experience with our organization.

I give the rating an eight due to some of the delays we've received in requesting an answer. I also rate an eight due to the poor customer service and even just friendliness of individuals on the Epic team we've connected with. However, I understand that EMR's have a goal outside of my personal goal... for example, I understand the responsibility of the EMR to help with billing in the US, so my feature request isn't a priority which is why I do rate the support higher than a seven.

Well suited when the care is routine and there is someone who can take focus on the data entry and Epic screen navigation while the medical staff (nurses, PAs, docs, etc) can focus on patient care. It is not well suited for more rare illnesses nor in instances when time is of the essence.

The initial training was good but would have been even better had I been more familiar with the system before taking it. I found learning how to deal with Epic while working in the field at the same time was a (pardon the pun) Epic learning curve. I really think there should be a scribe who does the data entry and others can focus on what they do best.

Epic is great to access from home or anywhere there is a wifi connection. It is very convenient for office or hospital employees. One time when it is not optimal is when I write a Certification of Terminal Illness for a hospice patient. I can never see it again. It drops off of Epic. I wish those notes would remain.

Support techs always find the answers to my questions. The only regrettable thing is one has to be on hold at times.

Epic is great for medium to large practices. Small practices can benefit from it but may not need all of the features. It is easy to manage multiple patients' charts at one time and there are so many settings within the software that it typically catches user errors before submitting or closing a chart.

Epic has a huge database of training, FAQs, and support. Anytime I've needed to contact customer service they've always been very helpful. For a beginner it is important to utilize the training they provide. Big kudos to the support team for putting together such an extensive training database. Each person on the support team is thoroughly trained on how to use Epic.

I have worked with many different health systems, helping them implement and support Epic. In every single situation the implementation has improved a number of things in the organization. These improvements range from simple communication efficiency all the way to increasing revenue. The majority of users that I follow up with have incredibly positive feedback about the experience. Epic is designed from the ground up with the idea of improving the experience for that patient. From the initial training to the customization options for the health system, Epic improves every aspect of patient care.

When implementing their product, Epic is there with you side by side. They help with everything from discovery to build. Beyond the people there are a number of different portals for documentation, eLearnings, FAQs and even user groups. Epic takes pride in their product and does a great job of providing support through the entire process.

Epic seems to be the EMR leader (Cerner may be a close second). Standardizing on a version and system for the whole organization is critical for ease of maintenance and use of data. Data and analytics considerations should be taken into account when deploying and customizing workflows, and standardizing across sites. Where possible, it can be beneficial for support and maintenance efforts.

A dedicated support staff for each module/area is provided by Epic. This is beneficial for points of contact, however, not all support staff are created equal, and there seems to be high turnover in these roles(staff seems to turn over every 1-2 years). This can make it challenging for continuity and quick support resolution as new staff are not as familiar with organization-specific needs, environments, and/or questions.