Electronic health records (EHRs) have revolutionized the healthcare industry, elevating and streamlining patient care, improving efficiency, and enhancing overall healthcare delivery. With their widespread adoption, EHRs have become a vital piece of a healthcare organization’s effective technology foundation. A successful EHR implementation and optimization of an EHR is instrumental in driving hospital growth, increasing patient volume, and streamlining mergers and acquisitions.
But this progress comes with challenges. Healthcare information technology leaders shared their top EHR issues — and their successes — with us at UGM 2024. Among their challenges: marrying artificial intelligence with their EHR systems; cost management and budgeting pressures; difficulty building teams skilled in systems like Epic; and keeping pace with the technological advances and updates of EHRs.
As EHRs become commonplace in healthcare settings, so, too, do practical solutions to the problems HIT leaders face.
Artificial Intelligence: Navigating Uncertainty
AI is rapidly transforming healthcare — including electronic health records. EHRs like Epic are commonly integrating AI to perform natural language processing, predictive analytics, image analysis, administrative tasks, and to support clinical decisions. While a recent KLAS report found that 80% of healthcare organizations are exploring AI, a separate Harris Poll found 35% of healthcare executives are concerned about data privacy and another 39% cite a lack of organizational experience with AI.
Overcoming the Challenge
Data privacy: Integrating AI into your EHR requires a sharpened focus on data governance to ensure the privacy, security, and ethical use of patient data, especially as AI algorithms often require access to vast amounts of sensitive information. Some protective measures to adopt include ensuring your data governance practices align with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA); implementing strict access controls to limit who can access sensitive patient data; using de-identification protocols to remove or obscure personally identifiable information; maintaining comprehensive audit trails to track all access to and modifications of patient data; and encrypting all patient data, both in transit and at rest, to protect it from unauthorized access.
Continuous monitoring: AI is not a set-it-and-forget-it technology. Establish mechanisms for ongoing monitoring and evaluation of AI performance within your EHR. This includes regularly assessing for bias, ensuring accuracy, and adjusting algorithms as needed to maintain optimal performance.
Lack of experience with AI: Empower your clinical staff to embrace AI by investing in comprehensive training programs. Focus on building trust in AI tools, explaining how they work, and addressing potential biases. Provide opportunities for clinicians to gain hands-on experience with AI tools in a safe and controlled environment. Medix Technology provides healthcare organizations with trained and Epic-certified professionals who can support all stages of your Epic journey and have experience with the latest advancements in EHRs, including AI functionalities.
Cost Management and Budgeting Pressures
Implementing and maintaining an Epic EHR comes with significant financial commitments — both one-time and ongoing investments: implementation, ongoing maintenance, training, and updating. Those costs can represent a significant portion of a healthcare organization’s technology budget. IT leaders face constant pressure to optimize or control these costs while ensuring ongoing system functionality and upgrades.
Overcoming the Challenge
Optimize EHR costs: Explore cost-optimization strategies such as cloud migration to reduce infrastructure costs by eliminating on-premises hardware and maintenance; process improvements to identify bottlenecks, streamline workflows and minimize wasted resources; and data analysis to pinpoint areas of overspending and optimize staffing levels.
Develop a comprehensive budget: It’s essential for HIT leaders to create a detailed EHR budget that accounts for all costs, including initial implementation (software licenses, hardware, training); ongoing costs (licensing fees, maintenance, upgrades, staffing); and unexpected costs (data breaches, technology breakdowns). Track expenses diligently to identify potential overruns and proactively address budgetary concerns.
Consider EHR consultants: Epic EHR consulting services like those at Medix Technology offer specialized guidance to help you navigate the complexities of adopting EHR, minimize risks, and maximize your return on investment. Leverage decades of experience from experts who can guide your team on key goals and milestones with proven methodologies around pre-implementation planning, workforce planning, governance, budgets, and training.
Workforce Planning to Support Tech Initiatives
The healthcare industry is facing a critical shortage of qualified IT professionals across the board — unemployment in the IT sector was just 2.5% in September 2024. This talent gap puts immense pressure on healthcare IT leaders to recruit, retain, and upskill their EHR workforce.
Overcoming the Challenge
Attract and retain top talent: Offer competitive compensation and benefits packages, create a positive and supportive work environment, and provide opportunities for professional growth and advancement to attract and retain skilled Epic professionals. Consider offering incentives like tuition reimbursement for Epic certifications and continuing education. Partnering with an EHR staffing agency like Medix Technology is an all-in-one solution for a skilled Epic staff. With access to a nationwide network of talent, we can quickly build project teams of local, trained and Epic-certified professionals who can support all stages of your Epic journey. We use flexible staffing solutions that allow HIT leaders to manage the evolving total cost of ownership and adjust staffing needs on an ongoing basis.
Invest in training and development: Implement comprehensive training programs to upskill your existing workforce and keep your team’s Epic skills current with the latest system updates and functionalities. Provide opportunities for cross-training to enhance talent versatility and value to the organization.
Embrace flexible work arrangements: Remote or hybrid work models allow organizations to appeal to job-seekers nationwide, expand their talent pool, and accommodate employee preferences. This can be particularly attractive to experienced Epic professionals seeking a positive work-life balance.
Adopting New Features and Change Management
Epic’s frequent updates and new features require healthcare organizations to adapt quickly, which can be challenging for teams accustomed to existing workflows. In fact, a Journal of Medical Internet Research study found that insufficient training and support during EHR transitions can lead to increased stress, burnout, and even cognitive failures among nurses.
Overcoming the Challenge
Develop a change management strategy: Implement a robust change management plan that includes clear communication of upcoming changes, their benefits, and the timeline for implementation; stakeholder engagement with clinicians and other end-users in the planning and implementation process to identify potential challenges and ensure smooth transitions; and comprehensive training on new Epic features, offering various formats like online tutorials, in-person workshops, and hands-on practice sessions.
User involvement and feedback: Use surveys, focus groups, and one-on-one meetings to gather feedback on new features and identify areas for improvement. Actively incorporate user feedback into your implementation plan. This demonstrates end-user input is valued and increases buy-in.
Provide ongoing support: Offer continuous support to end-users through various channels, such as online resources, help desk support, and on-site training, to ensure they can effectively utilize new functionalities. Consider appointing “super users” within each department to provide peer-to-peer support and assist colleagues with new functionalities.
Overcome Epic EHR Challenges With Medix Technology
Epic EHR is a complex system that demands a lot from healthcare leaders, but the payoff is enormous. As a foundational piece of your technology program, an EHR system drives hospital growth, helps increase patient volume, and streamlines mergers and acquisitions.
HIT leaders can navigate the complexities of Epic implementation and optimization with a trusted partner like Medix Technology. Our team offers comprehensive staffing and consulting solutions, connecting you with top Epic talent and providing expert guidance before, during, and after launch. From analysts and developers to project managers and trainers, you have access to the expertise to help you achieve your Epic goals. Contact us today to learn more and get started.
