Epic presents a new evidence-based medicine tool and EHR improvements at HIMSS24
Epic will, as always, have a significant presence on the HIMSS24 Global Conference and Exhibition. The electronic health record developer is often at the forefront of innovation, and CIOs and other healthcare IT leaders at hospitals and healthcare systems of all stripes keep their eyes on what the vendor will do next.
Healthcare IT news sat down with Seth Hain, senior vice president of research and development at Epic, to get a preview of what the company will debut at HIMSS24 and get an idea of the themes and technologies it will focus on.
Q. What are some of the additions or changes you will be making to your EHR?
A. An exciting example is Best Care Choices for My Patient, which will support evidence-based medicine by helping healthcare providers understand how patients like theirs have responded to the different treatment options they are considering. It will be rolled out at an early stage this year.
Another is the continued expansion of the healthcare network – with new payers and specialized diagnostic laboratories, and eventually new types of groups, such as medical device manufacturers and pharmaceutical companies. We have found that when a group joins the healthcare network, new value is created for patients, providers, and the new group.
Q. Artificial intelligence is the hottest topic in healthcare IT today. What will you discuss at HIMSS24 when it comes to AI?
A. We have begun focusing our generative AI efforts on clinical efficiency, specifically with suggested responses to patient messages and listening to the environment. The results of these early use cases were positive, with physicians reducing the time spent writing messages by as much as 27%.
As adoption increased, we recognized the value that generative AI can create and the speed at which it can be implemented across the healthcare system. Now we are in the process of using it across our entire product range, with more than 60 projects in the pipeline.
They are for all types of Epic users – from the exam room to the back office, including programmers. Along the way, we continue our research in space, exploring the latest models and improving the depth and accuracy of the tools in our software.
Q. I’m sure you’ll be making a lot of announcements during the show. Share a few that we can offer as a sneak preview.
A. Visitors to our stand will see many updates from us. Here’s a little example.
Our Cosmos team will focus on two areas – ‘expanding knowledge’ and ‘improving care’ – and how the organizations participating in Cosmos have made this all possible.
“Expand Knowledge” includes updates on customer research and the latest news from Epic Research – like the recent study showing that many patients maintain weight loss a year after stopping semaglutide and liraglutide. “Improving Care” includes new functionality such as Look-Alikes, Best Care Choices for My Patient, and condition-specific growth charts.
We will also have teams focused on efficiency and optimization across the board. On the revenue cycle front, for example, coding automation is getting a boost with an AI-powered assistant that will streamline professional and hospital coding.
Other examples help customers maximize capacity by identifying unused time in their ORs, automatically creating and adjusting their infusion schedules, and predicting capacity to make informed staffing decisions.
Many of our visitors to HIMSS are current customers, so this is a great opportunity to hear their thoughts on the new things they can do with the software. We’ll also highlight the different ways Epic employees can help them succeed.
For example, through our new Level Up program, we are deploying staff to help customers implement critical features, prepare operations, and enable them to continue optimizing their software in the future.
Q. What is the overarching theme for Epic at this year’s HIMSS Global Conference & Exhibition?
A. HIMSS is a great opportunity to connect with customers, hear their current goals and challenges, and share what we are working on to help them. While the booth will cover a variety of topics – ranging from patient experiences, staff experiences, organizational efficiency to the advancement of medicine – the key message is: “We care about you and we are here to help. “
Epic will be present in stands 1961, 3760-54 and VHQ1900 at the HIMSS24 Global Conference and Exhibition.
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