Author: Kathy Inkley, Epic Project Manager
Pivot Point Consulting was recently ranked #1 in Epic Consulting Select Category in the industry gold-standard KLAS report, Epic Consulting 2016, released May 3, 2016. We’re honored to receive the top award, but there’s even more to this story!
Specific recognition in this report was for our Epic implementation support and staffing. However, the reality is that our client hospitals and health systems rely on our team during every step of the Epic journey. One of our clients, a five-hospital health system in the Northeast, recently shared their advice for successful EHR implementation and optimization projects—of epic proportions.
Where to Begin
An organization’s real work begins once the Epic contract is signed. From implementation plans to project teams, an Epic system implementation can become very overwhelming, very fast! This was the case for the health system mentioned above.
The 650-bed hospital was experiencing significant pre-go-live issues when we first met. They were struggling with pre-planning of their Epic install, let alone developing and phasing in an implementation plan. From the hospital’s perspective, the absent link was strong leadership.
Pivot Point consultants, experienced in Epic implementations, became the missing piece. We provided the planning and guidance that was lacking from the organization’s internal management team. Over the course of a few days, we ramped up a team of ten consultants across all aspects of their Epic implementation.
To this day, the health system recognizes Pivot Point’s role in:
- Building a strategic plan for their entire Epic implementation
- Coordinating resources between Epic and internal teams
- Delivering on time, on budget, and within governance guidelines
Over the past five years in working with this health system, we’ve consistently put great people on the ground, working hand in hand with their internal teams. As their journey with Epic proceeds, so does our work with them. Our full-cycle partnership continues to evolve and change across all phases of their Epic experience, including:
- Revenue Cycle & Clinical Optimization
- Interface Configuration
- System Stabilization
- Analytics
- ICD-10 conversion
- Staff, Physician & End User Training
How to Make Forward Progress with Epic
Our main goal is always to be a trusted advisor to help healthcare systems meet their challenges. In our advisory capacity, we have identified some recurring themes when it comes to Epic implementations and/or system optimizations. Here are the top focus areas for our Epic advisory services:
- Optimization – Probably more than any other area, we are asked to advise on the revenue cycle side of Epic. Pivot Point Consulting Partner, Jon Melling, has expertise in revenue cycle strategy. He fully understands both reimbursement concerns and IT challenges. Because of Jon’s expertise and our long history of success with revenue cycle planning and Epic implementation, this is one area of implementation where Pivot Point clearly stands out above the crowd of other HIT consultants.
- Security – As technology gets more complex and security risks more prevalent, hospitals are increasingly reaching out to us for cybersecurity assessments. Hand in hand with assessments is guidance for more robust EHR security development planning to protect sensitive patient information.
- Analytics – Our expertise with Cogito Data Warehousing through Epic has proven to fill a void in the marketplace. We have analysts and data scientists on the Pivot Point team who work from an analytics perspective to implement best practice intelligence models. In some cases, we implement a more broad-based initiative if the situation calls for it.
- Legacy Supporting – When vendors decide to sunset systems or individual modules, Pivot Point is there. We staff IT positions for legacy products and ensure historical data is maintained and accessible all the way through to system conversion, testing and go-live. For some clients, we serve as system support for every single position they have in a legacy application. As a result of the legacy work we’ve done, we often end up installing the new system as well.
A Complete Picture
With clients across 30 states, we’ve had the opportunity to partner with a wide range of healthcare systems and Epic projects. Regardless of the organization’s size, geographic location, or implementation phase, the first step is always the same—we develop a comprehensive list of their specific challenges and pain points with Epic. With everything so interconnected, it’s essential to look at each and every point in the implementation cycle and make solid, sound, long-lasting recommendations.
Our relationships with our clients, and with our consultants, drive the project forward. Systems, software, and procedures still need the human element. Our people drive our strategy, our technology expertise, and our long-term success with so many clients. Perhaps that’s why this KLAS recognition makes perfect sense.
To learn more about our Epic Implementation Services, contact us today.
