Epic Information Fair Held at Flushing Hospital

 To help promote the EPIC electronic medical record (EMR) roll-out at Flushing Hospital, the Medisys Informatics Department hosted an Epic Information Fair on June 29. The fair allowed employees to meet members of the informatics build and training teams, observe demonstrations of various aspects of the electronic health records, and have their questions answered.

The event was attended by over 200 employees, and the workflow demonstrations of the Epic EMR system proved really beneficial.

“Any change is always a challenge,” said Theresa Aliperta, Project Director of the Epic project team. “The fair eased the anxiety and apprehension of staff members that will be using computers for the first time.” 

Epic, a state-of-the-art electronic health record system, will replace the current pen-and-paper method of recording patient medical information, eliminating the need to store volumes of paper. In addition, EPIC will allow the hospital to track, assess and coordinate care across multiple systems, as well as integrate its many clinical and financial systems. The system will also allow e-prescribing, enable patients to access their health information on-line, and will comply with all criteria for electronic health records set forth by the federal government, under the HITECH ACT.

The anticipated Epic EMR roll-out at Flushing Hospital is slated for October 2012.  All Flushing Hospital employees are scheduled for training and will take a proficiency test to ensure their understanding of the new system, while maintaining the hospital’s commitment to excellence and the safety of its patients.