Super Users at Your Side During Epic Go-live
Learning a new electronic medical record (EMR) and business platform may seem like a daunting challenge. Super Users will be providing some extra help so everyone can tackle Epic with confidence.
There is no denying that Epic will bring significant changes to day-to-day activities. Super Users provide knowledgeable, trusted, and critical go-live support for their colleagues and create a foundation for operational adoption of the system.
More than 900 of our Columbia colleagues have agreed to take on the role of Super User. Super Users will attend additional readiness activities as they prepare to provide dedicated at-the-elbow support for users within their own departments at go-live. Look to them to help solve problems, communicate updates, and lead your department by sharing their expertise.
Francine Castillo, director of practice operations in the Department of Surgery, says it just made sense to get as much training as possible on the new EMR.
“Signing up to be a Super User affords me the opportunity to learn the ins and outs of Epic, not just for the way I personally may use it, but also for how my colleagues will,” Castillo said. “Being a Super User may also provide me key insight into how we can operationally improve some of our workflows with all the functionalities of Epic.”
She added, “While I think the staff is nervous about the rollout, I can tell everyone is excited to see what Epic can do.”
Jose Franceschini, practice administrator in the Division of Digestive and Liver Diseases in the Department of Medicine, said that he is looking forward to what the new integrated medical record will mean for patients.
“One of the benefits to patients of an integrated electronic medical record is the ability to receive the best medical care with up-to-date information at our physicians’ fingertips,” Franceschini said. “No longer will anyone have to wait for information to be sent via fax, CD, or email. This will drastically improve patient care and patient safety by reducing medical errors.”
Carolyn Baldwin, clinical operations manager at the Center for Lymphoid Malignancies, said she signed on to be a Super User because she saw it as a chance to gain knowledge on an in-depth level as well as help others to develop their skill set.
“While I take pleasure in assisting and training, being a Super User allows me the opportunity to be of help to my team as well as to many others throughout the medical facility,” Baldwin said.
Beyond providing individual user support, Super Users will assist the project team by identifying and resolving standard workflow or application issues. They will attend daily go-live issues meetings, report outcomes to their departments, and distribute daily communications, such as tip sheets, to help implement the changes.
“Super Users will be essential to making our go-live smooth, efficient, and personalized,” said Rachel Lewis, MD, associate chief medical information officer for ColumbiaDoctors. “Most of us have been through implementations that employed outside consultants for at-the-elbow support and found that kind of help very limited. Super Users will be our own people who already know the details of our systems and practices and who are trained to understand Epic and the designs that we've worked so hard to customize. They are central to a successful go-live, and we are deeply grateful to them for their hard work as we enter the home stretch.”
Look for the Gray Shirt
We encourage you to find out who your Super Users are before go-live. The Epic Practice Readiness Centers will list them in the coming months. You won’t be able to miss them at go-live: They will be wearing gray Epic Super User shirts.