Epic Change Management Optimization/Enhancement
RWJBarnabas Health is always working to improve the Epic experience. Are you a Provider or Clinical Care Team and Ambulatory Staff that uses Epic and has ideas for how to optimize/enhance the system and workflow? We would love to hear from you! Please submit a MyServicePortal ticket to start the process!
Epic Application Optimization/Enhancement Process
RWJBarnabas Health’s Gold Star Epic implementation continues to improve with optimization/enhancement.
Optimization/Enhancement is an ongoing process of making the Electronic Health Record (EHR) more efficient and usable for the customer. This results in improved efficiency in customers’ practice and satisfaction.
RWJBarnabas Health created a workflow that captures, vets, and responds to Epic optimization/enhancement requests. The following information explains the process.
Optimization/Enhancement Requests
It is important to define the difference between “Optimization/Enhancement Requests” and “Reporting an EHR Issue.”
- Enhancement Request: An enhancement request is entered when additional Epic functionality, order panels/sets, or documentation options are identified beyond the current configuration. The Epic enhancement request process provides a unified way to communicate enhancement request details and request status updates.
- EHR Issue/Break-fix: If the issue prevents you from using the system in its current configuration or contributes to a potential patient safety concern it is considered an Issue/Break-fix.
If you are having issues with Epic and need immediate assistance, please submit a MyServicePortal “Report an EHR Issue” ticket, or review the information on our Epic: How to Get Help page for more detail.
Enhancements vs EHR Issue-Break/Fix
Epic Application Optimization/Enhancement Process
RWJBarnabas Health’s goal is to improve collaboration between customers, informatics, governance, training, and EpicTogether application teams for all Epic Optimization/Enhancement Requests.
The Epic Optimization/Enhancement goals are to:
- Simplify customer access to Epic Optimization/Enhancement request process
- Optimize application team efficiency throughout Enhancement Ticket lifecycle
- Standardize Enhancement Ticket status across applications
- Improve organization and coordination of optimizations/enhancements
- Communicate ticket status updates to customers with transparency
Optimization/Enhancement Request Form
Optimization/Enhancement Ticket Status Lifecycle
The following image shows the lifecycle of the Optimization/Enhancement Ticket.
Epic Enhancement Process Overview
The process by which Optimization/Enhancement are reviewed, approved, and developed have different paths depending on the following factors:
- Physician Leadership: If Providers are affected by a change
- Informatics: If Acute Clinical customers are affected by a change
- Application Team: If neither Providers nor Acute Clinical customers are affected by change
Updated: 10/10/2023