Major Headlines For Epic in 2020!
(Originally posted on LinkedIn)
In 2020, with Judy Faulkner's leadership, Epic has continued to prove itself as the leader in its space. From growth to innovation, and, most importantly, in their response to COVID-19, Epic has set the standard this year. Here are a few of their major headlines from 2020.
Epic Leads The Charge Against HHS Interoperability Rule
Judy Faulkner was very vocal in her thoughts about the interoperability rule that was proposed and is now finalized by the Department of Health and Human Services. After writing a letter to health care organizations across the country, she and 60+ health systems objected against the rule. This rule, according to Faulkner, would negatively affect patients and health care organizations by increased costs of care, decreased care quality, and the loss of control of confidential health information for patients and their families. The argument made against Faulkner and the health systems is that patients own their data outright and the access of that information can be critical in making decisions. Since the initial opposition, the rule has been finalized and is now getting support from Epic as many of the requested changes were made. Specifically, one of the major changes addressed the concerns about allowing private app developers to have access to patient data.
Epic's Response To COVID-19
With the initial influx COVID-19 caused, health systems were working at maximum capacity. Epic quickly responded by assisting in getting a pop-up field hospitals up and running and helping add over 80,000 additional hospital beds across the US. Epic's support allowed health care organizations to implement the EHR in parking lots, gyms, lunchrooms, and more and provided the expertise to get them up and running efficiently. Beyond these increases in capacity, many health systems were actively implementing Epic and faced the challenge of going live without on-site support. Valley Children's Healthcare was the first organization to implement Epic virtually and they did it without any major hurdles.
KLAS awards Epic the Top Overall Software Suite
Epic has become accustomed to winning every year and 2020 was not different. For the 2020 Best in KLAS health IT rankings, Epic took home eight awards including category leader awards in four separate segments. The biggest win for Epic is their physician practice vendor ranking and the number of awards they received compared to their competitors. Their loyalty, culture, relationships, and the product has made them the preferred vendor for another year.
Epic Becomes Flexible on Return to Work Policy
Epic had planned on its phase one approach of bringing 10,000 employees back to work. Epic's plan to return employees to work challenged the Dane County public health department's public health order. 89% of Epic's own employees were critical of the decision to begin phase one and have all employees back on-site by September 21st. Following this criticism, Dane County sent a letter to Epic and Epic decided to delay the return to work plan. Although they have every intention of bringing their employees back on-site as soon as possible, they adjusted their plan and decided to work with public health officials to find an agreeable path.
2020 has challenged organizations in ways they have never seen before and Epic has faced these challenges head on while pivoting to make themselves stronger. The year is not over and there will surely be additional headlines with Epic's name on them in 2020.