Amy Miller, MD, PhD, chief medical information officer for Inpatient Clinical Services, and O’Neil Britton, MD, chief health information officer for Partners, at a recent training session.

The go-live of Partners eCare is just over a month away for BWHC! With the guiding principle of “one patient, one record, one team, one statement,” PeC will improve the way BWHC delivers care to patients.

About 14,000 staff members throughout BWH, BWFH and DFCI are receiving training and preparing for this monumental transition as the implementation date rapidly approaches.

“Every Epic client says that once you are through the initial hours and days, it will all be worth it and you will really like the new system,” said Shelly Anderson, vice president of Strategy Implementation. “In the meantime, please be patient and supportive of your colleagues as we all undergo significant changes in the way we do our daily work.”

Here are some helpful reminders to make sure you are as prepared as possible for May 30.

Know the Go-Live Schedule

The transition will occur overnight on May 29. Most of our applications will be turned off at approximately 9 p.m. on Friday, May 29, with Epic turning on officially at about 5 a.m. on Saturday, May 30.

Over the two days before (May 28 and 29), and the day after (May 31), we must first transfer key orders and patient information and then go through “recovery” from the downtime period and conversion process:

• Beginning on Thursday, May 28, at 9 p.m. through midnight Friday, May 29, a core group of clinicians (nurses, pharmacists, physicians) will transcribe active BICS orders into Epic once the Admitting team sets up the Epic record.
• On Saturday, May 30, treatment activities that had been documented through a paper form (during the Friday, May 29, 9 p.m. – Saturday, May 30, 5 a.m. Epic “up” time) will need to be transcribed into the patient’s Epic record.
• These include, but are not limited to, admitting orders, blood bank orders not already received by blood bank, code status, isolation orders, lab orders not already received by lab, validation of all active medication orders, orders not received by Radiology, and any other active order not in the electronic record.

Prepare with a Personalization Lab for Physicians

These sessions will tailor Epic to physicians’ individual needs and save your system settings so that you have an easier transition when Epic goes live. This will help you be more efficient and comfortable with the new system. Two-hour labs will be held at BWH, BWFH and the ambulatory care center in Foxboro beginning May 4. Provider personalization labs are essential for improving efficiency at go-live and afterward. Sessions are mandatory for all physicians. You should have received an email with sign-up information the week of April 13. With questions, please contact BWHCPersonalizationlabs@partners.org

Practice in the Playground
After attending training, you will be able to access the Epic playground via any Partners workstation to practice and ensure you keep your skills sharp in advance of go-live. If you have questions, please stop by the information center next to the Shapiro Bridge. The center is staffed regularly. View the calendar found here.  You can also submit your questions online by clicking on the “Ask Us” button found on the training website.

Additional information, including training resources, is available here.