Worcester Business Journal

wbjournal.com | October 2, 2017 | Worcester Business Journal 11 Source: UMass Memorial Health Care Inc. W PLEASE JOIN US! • Associated Credit Services, Inc., Westborough • Cohen Law Services, LLC, Westborough • Commerce Bank, Worcester • Delgreco Supply Co, Inc., Northborough • Diamond Construction, Inc., Grafton • Disaster Restoration Services, Hopedale • Ford's Hometown Services, Inc., Worcester • Good as Gold Coffee, Worcester • Rawson Materials, Putnam, CT Thank you to our event sponsors: Wednesday, November 8th at 5:00PM The Manor Restaurant, West Boylston, MA Join us as we reveal the winners of the 2017 Central MA Awards for Marketplace Excellence. Awards Presentations | Hors d'oeuvres | Networking Advanced tickets: $20 | Tickets can be purchased by calling 508-552-0366. 2017 FINALISTS: in UMass Memorial hospitals and out- patient offices seamless. This works toward the goal of mak- ing the system more efficient by elimi- nating things like duplicate tests, and improving the quality of care and safety of patients. For example, with a quality electronic medical records system in place, emergency room doctors can quickly find out what medications a patient is on, avoiding dangerous drug interactions. After conducting demon- strations of several options, clinical staff ultimately settled on Epic for its functionality and integration capabili- ties, Tarnowski said. Wisconsin-based Epic is a healthcare software company with offices in Europe, the Middle East and Australia. Its software platform is used by large U.S. healthcare systems, and several have been recognized by the Healthcare Financial Management Association for meeting revenue cycle benchmarks, best practices and achieving outstand- ing patient satisfaction. Epic is also expensive. About one third of the $650 million IT investment was allocated for buying and imple- menting the platform, after UMass Memorial signed a contract with Epic in July 2015. "We wanted integration and the best product, we thought, for our patients," Tarnowski said. Countdown to the launch After signing with Epic, the system spent months customizing the platform with feedback from 1,400 clinicians across UMass Memorial. Then the soft- ware testing began, a nine-month pro- cess running from September 2016 to June, fixing defects along the way. Then training began and continued until yes- terday's launch. UMass Memorial met every major milestone on the journey to a new elec- tronic medical record system, but Tarnowski expected some hurdles when going live. With about 12,000 users across the system, Tarnowski is prepar- ing for an adjustment period. The electronic system "changes overnight for thousands of people. Although we're training people, nothing can replace time on the system," Tarnowski said. The payoff Epic replaces 120 other software solutions used to manage patient records (a few others will remain as they have unique functions that can't be replaced). UMass Memorial is target- ing a 2-percent savings per year result- ing from the more efficient Epic sys- tem, meaning the upfront cost will be paid off in five years, said UMass spokesman Anthony Berry. The opportunity to become more efficient is what organizations of all sizes should be aware of when it comes to IT spending, said Helder Machado, president and CEO of Worcester IT services firm Machado Consulting. He said companies are migrating opera- tions, and they can save a lot of money, because monthly costs of software-as- a-service are more manageable. Machado said sometimes, companies shy away from such transitions, fearing disruptions and glitches, and he admitted such changes can be difficult, especially for healthcare providers, which operate around the clock and are tasked with keeping people well. "Even in best-case scenari- os, there's going to be dis- ruption of some sort," Machado said. Tarnowski said patient care should not be impacted by the UMass transition. And Palmgren, the Marlborough Hospital nurse who helped train co-workers, said he wasn't nervous at all about the change, and expected his fellow emergency care workers to pick up the new platform quickly. "I really am excited about the ability for all staff at all different levels to com- municate effectively. I think it's going to be great for patients and the staff," Palmgren said. Helder Machado, president & CEO, Machado Consulting UMass' Epic switch By the numbers $650 million The 10-year cost of implementing Epic and upgrading IT infrastructure across the system 3 million UMass Memorial patient records managed by Epic 12,000 Epic users throughout the UMass Memorial system 125 New employees hired to accommodate IT upgrades 2% Targeted annual efficiencies generated by Epic software

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