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In preparation for the Partners eCare (PeC) launch at BWHC on May 30, BWHC’s PeC team recently hosted the first in a series of interactive presentations that explore some of the significant changes the new system will bring to how BWHers work.

“We’re excited for the implementation of Epic and expect great things for patients and providers across Partners,” said Ramin Khorasani, MD, vice chair of Radiology, during the presentation in Bornstein Amphitheater earlier this month. “At the same time, we know how much work is still ahead, both before and after go-live, to ensure we reach the best outcomes.”

PeC, BWHC’s new Epic-based electronic health record system, will assist physicians, nurses, health professionals, administrators and frontline staff in delivering more seamless and coordinated care across all Partners settings. It will also enable patients and families to more actively engage in their own care since patient care documentation will be done at the bedside.

Ramin Khorasani

The session included a live demonstration of the workflow for ordering and scheduling radiology exams in the new system, followed by a lesson on documenting at the bedside.

Michelle Kennedy, a practice administrator in Orthopedics who frequently orders radiology tests, attended the presentation so she could learn more about how the system will improve her daily workflow. She said the demonstration was easy to follow, and she found the flow of scheduling an exam through Epic to be seamless.

With PeC, the radiology order entry process will begin and end in Epic, which will eliminate discrepancies that currently occur because two different systems are used.

Later in the presentation, BWFH nursing staff, who have been piloting “just in time” bedside documentation, shared lessons learned and tips on maintaining and improving meaningful interaction with patients. “Just in time” documentation refers to documenting notes directly into a patient’s electronic health record while in the patient’s room, as opposed to documenting on paper later.

Currently, nurses across BWHC do not perform all of their documentation in patient rooms. Instead they use workstations on wheels that are brought into rooms or document using workstations outside of patient rooms. When PeC goes live, most computers will be located in patient rooms, which will enable care providers and patients to go over care plans together in real time.

BWFH nurses involved in the pilot reported that they were able to answer patients’ questions quickly and easily because information about their care was readily available inside the room. Nurses could document information without interruption; there was no need to leave it to memory or write a note on paper.

Lynne Morrison, RN, a BWFH nurse director, and her team emphasized the importance of making patients feel comfortable with bedside documenting by standing at the computer so they can frequently make eye contact with patients. So far, Morrison said patients have shared that they feel nurses are listening carefully and documenting history accurately.

View the PeC Spotlight Series webcast. Learn more about PeC here.