How Inova Health Found Success with its Epic Beaker Implementation (original) (raw)
A holistic approach to comprehensive IT solutions for healthcare.
Background
Inova is the leading nonprofit healthcare provider in Northern Virginia and the Washington, DC, Metropolitan area. Through its expansive network of hospitals, primary and specialty care practices, emergency and urgent care centers, and outpatient services, Inova provides care for more than one million unique patients annually. This project’s scope consisted of five hospitals, one free-standing central lab, six free-standing emergency departments, 21 urgent care clinics, and three ambulatory clinics.
6
Free-Standing ED Departments
Challenge
Inova was moving from its legacy lab application and implementing Epic’s Beaker module across its entire system in Northern Virginia (about a 60-mile spread). This large-scale effort demanded universal adoption of the new, system-wide module and its workflows. These were different workflows than what staff were used to, leading to uncertainty about their roles during the go-live phase and in the future. A rapid implementation with diverse workflows across multiple locations with varying legacy system processes created a complex change management environment that put Beaker adoption at risk. Support needs were critical to put end users at ease and help drive consistency and standardization in the new Beaker application.
”Working with Optimum Healthcare IT has been a great experience for Inova. Their knowledge and expertise were evident during the entire Beaker go-live process, and we are excited about the enhanced capabilities this brings to our healthcare system. Optimum Healthcare IT has been a fantastic partner in helping us provide world-class care.
Matt KullChief Information Officer
Solution
Optimum Healthcare IT utilized its Skillmarket platform to efficiently identify and onboard a team of 155 experienced Application Training Experts (ATEs) to support Inova’s end-users. These ATEs, possessing broad clinical experience, played a crucial role in helping staff adapt to new on-floor and in-clinic workflows. By leveraging our network, we ensured that Inova’s users received the highest level of support. Additionally, Optimum and Inova collaborated to establish a secure environment for accessing the ITSM application (ServiceNow), which facilitated seamless ticket management and screen sharing for swift issue resolution.
In response to emerging issues, Optimum dynamically redeployed its ATE resources to Inova locations with higher rates of issue tickets and downtime. This strategic redeployment allowed for prompt and efficient problem-solving, significantly reducing downtime and improving operational efficiency. At one point, 50% of the ATEs were reassigned to different areas within Inova, demonstrating the flexibility and effectiveness of Optimum’s hybrid support model. This dynamic management of resources ensured that Inova could maintain a high level of service even in areas with increased challenges.
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