Since its go-live in June, St. Peter’s Well being in Helena, Montana stated that it has obtained suggestions that sufferers are having bother accessing their well being data, scheduling appointments and processing referrals in MyChart.
WHY IT MATTERS
In June, St. Peter’s sufferers gained entry to MyChart by an Epic Group Join partnership with SCL Well being, which is now a part of Intermountain Well being.
Epic’s Group Join mannequin permits smaller healthcare organizations to make use of Epic EHR software program with out the price and sources required for a full-scale implementation.
SCL Well being has eight hospitals and greater than 100 clinics all through Colorado and Montana, in accordance with its web site.
“The St. Peter’s management group would additionally like to increase our honest gratitude to our workers, who’re working extremely laborious to be taught and function in a brand new system in addition to reconcile data from earlier databases,” the group stated in an replace on the transition to Epic and MyChart posted to its web site July 21.
“We’d additionally like to increase our appreciation to our onsite consultants and companions at SCL/Intermountain Well being, who’re standing shoulder to shoulder with us to make this transition as environment friendly as potential.”
On July 19, St. Peter’s posted some directions adopted by an FAQ, a number of of which relate to MyChart data for and communications from SCL Well being and Intermountain Well being, in addition to supplier searches that embody areas exterior of Montana.
“Our partnership with SCL Well being, also called Intermountain Well being, signifies that some parts of the MyChart service are shared between SCL Well being and its associates,” St. Peter’s stated within the FAQ.
“This additionally signifies that while you use sure MyChart instruments you might even see details about different suppliers or areas from SCL Well being and its associates.”
A few of St. Peter’s suppliers additionally don’t settle for on-line appointment scheduling by MyChart, the well being system added.
“This effort is an amazing partnership between St. Peter’s Well being, Intermountain Well being and Epic, and we proceed to work intently to complete changing information from St. Peter’s earlier affected person portal into MyChart,” Epic stated in an announcement despatched to Healthcare IT Information Thursday.
“Whereas a transition of this magnitude can create non permanent disruptions for sufferers, we stay assured that the transfer to Epic and MyChart will enhance their expertise at St. Peter’s and permit for higher entry and higher instruments for self-managing their well being.”
Extra data and help for sufferers and caregivers is accessible on St. Peter’s web site.
THE LARGER TREND
Small hospitals are at present altering EHRs quicker than massive hospitals, in accordance with the Small-Hospital Affected person Accounting report the KLAS Arch Collaborative launched in March.
Within the researchers’ newest – Epic Full Look 2023, a high-level evaluation of the important thing capabilities and efficiency scores based mostly on consumer suggestions – there isn’t any direct possibility to purchase and deploy Epic for group hospitals of lower than 200 beds, like St. Peter’s.
In 2020, KLAS researchers stated in “The Actuality of Group Join vs. Direct Contracting” report that “These on Group Join, who depend on their host group for help, are typically significantly much less glad and fault Epic for permitting host organizations to ship an expertise beneath Epic’s typical customary.”
In the meantime, the Sequoia Challenge’s Client Voices Workgroup launched findings this week from its current shopper engagement research, together with suggestions for bettering affected person entry, use and sharing of information on affected person portals which are tethered to digital well being information.
“It isn’t stunning that individuals anticipate an identical and cheap quantity of digital ease from their healthcare suppliers as skilled with different shopper companies,” stated Shannah Koss, shopper advocate, president of Koss on Care and cochair of the workgroup, within the announcement.
Sufferers need well being document entry with usability, however sufferers throughout the U.S. expertise highway blocks accessing and sharing their well being information, the workgroup stated, noting that the issue is nationwide in scope.
ON THE RECORD
“Our Epic companions, who work with well being methods throughout the globe on EHR conversions, consider that our transition to Epic has been extremely profitable however we acknowledge that there’s work to do to make this the absolute best expertise for our sufferers,” stated St. Peter’s Well being in its media advisory.
Andrea Fox is senior editor of Healthcare IT Information.
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Healthcare IT Information is a HIMSS Media publication.