New Epic Electronic Health Record System to launch in January

HSHS Holy Family Hospital will soon go live with Epic, a new electronic health record (EHR) system as part of their ongoing commitment to patient safety while also streamlining health information and sharing with other providers. 

Information contained in the EHR includes care orders, test results, physician notes and reports, as well as patients’ medical history. The system provides a technology platform for this information to be shared with nurses, physicians and other caregivers in one integrated system. It will enhance transparent communication across locations and specialties. 

Epic is used by a majority of U.S. News and World Report’s top-ranked hospitals and medical schools who are working collaboratively every day to improve patient care, innovate health care delivery and achieve financial health. All organizations using Epic can easily exchange patient data for improved patient care. 

“Epic is a widely used health record system, used not only by our HSHS hospitals, but also by many of our physician partners, like HSHS Medical Group and Prairie Cardiovascular Consultants,” said Holy Family’s Chief Medical Officer Dr. Ryan Jennings. “By using the same EHR, clinicians will have access to more complete and accurate information about the care of their patients at Holy Family Hospital or in one of our clinics. It puts important medical information, essential for diagnosis and treatment of patients, immediately at the fingertips of doctors and caregivers, including built-in alerts that help improve patient safety” he said, “Epic will ultimately allow our caregivers to spend more time at the patient’s bedside.”

As part of the Epic implementation, patients will also gain access to Epic’s patient portal, MyHSHS. The portal is a convenient, secure and confidential resource for patients to view their medical records, manage their appointments, and communicate with their providers, along with many billing improvements. Patients can access MyHSHS from any computer or their mobile device at any time.

How to sign up for MyHSHS portal
It is free and easy to create a MyHSHS account:

• Go to www.myhshs.org. 
• Login or create a MyHSHS account by clicking “Sign Up Now.”

As the system is implemented, keeping security of confidential patient records remains a high priority. Epic technology incorporates sophisticated mechanisms, including individual user passwords and firewalls, to make sure patient privacy is protected. 

During Go Live
While Holy Family Hospital has had CPSI for their electronic health record, there is a learning curve for the staff.  HSHS Holy Family Hospital President and CEO Kelly Sager shared, “Our colleagues have been hard at work training on the Epic system and are doing a wonderful job learning the new system,” she said. “When we go live with Epic on Saturday, January 29, we don’t anticipate any problems but do ask our patients who come that day and for a few weeks after to be patient as we become comfortable with Epic, as it is drastically different from our previous system.”

To help with the transition, Holy Family reminds patients:

• If you have an appointment for a test at HSHS Holy Family Hospital or one of the hospital’s clinics such their specialty clinics, please arrive 15 minutes early to assist with the registration process.
• Please keep in mind that a new EHR affects every department of the hospital, including environmental services (housekeeping), food and nutrition services, and business office.    
• Please be patient with colleagues and caregivers as we learn this new system.