The ARB Small Conference Room is now a training build room, and then will be repurposed for training end users on HealthONE. (Photo by Chris DeFrancesco)
In preparation for the training that starts in February, principal trainers are working on building training environments for HealthONE, the sophisticated electronic medical record system UConn Health will use starting in the spring.
Fifteen principal trainers and their counterparts from Epic, the software vendor, are in the middle of a three-week process.
“These training environments are not only critical for training but coming in October is pilot training,” says Kim Robinson, UConn HealthONE training director. “Pilot training is a chance for the subject matter experts who have been working with the trainers to develop curriculum to see it in action in the training environment.”
The goal is to have 49 certified trainers in place to handle the task of training the more than 3,000 estimated HealthONE users. The full training phase is scheduled to start in late February, leading to the April 28 go-live date.
HealthONE analysts from the OpTime, Anesthesia, and Inpatient teams work together to execute a script. (Photo by Ethan Giorgetti)
The employees and consultants who are overseeing UConn Health’s conversion to a modern electronic medical record system are now well into what is probably the most important stretch of the testing phase.
The second of five planned rounds of integrated testing is underway. If you liken it to a theater production, the show has been cast and the actors know their lines, and now they’re starting to rehearse together on stage.
In this case, the stage is the fourth floor of the Connecticut Tower, which has been converted into an area designated for this purpose through the end of December. Integrated testing started July 31 and represents the largest part of the overall testing phase.
“Each analyst represents a different piece of the system,” says HealthONE business system analyst Margo Higginbotham. “They’ve kind of been in their little silos for a while now. When we say integrated, it’s them now coming together and saying, ‘Oh, so when I do that, it affects you.’ That’s the whole point of this, to identify defects now so next time we run them, we’ll see if it makes it through.”
There are nearly 150 scripts, or workflows, to test over the next three months to determine which pieces of the process are working properly. These scripts represent approved current and future state patient workflows and how HealthONE will handle them, for example from registration to admittance to recovery to medications to discharge and billing.
Trisha Faraday (left) and Donatienne Noel help facilitate integrated testing of HealthONE workflows. (Photo by Ethan Giorgetti)
“Now is the time to find those defects in between each of their applications, or something that would have executed in one system but isn’t working as planned when integrated with another application,” says HealthONE application architect Trisha Faraday. “Those are the defects that we’re now finding.”
During the first three weeks, or Round 1, the analysts ran 95 scripts, 34 of which passed. They expect to execute most of the rest during Round 2, which started this week. Some of the scripts that didn’t pass in Round 1 are back in Round 2 to see if the defects have been successfully resolved. Others need more time to be fixed and will return to testing in Round 3.
“Testing it now in this environment is where you’re going to be able to fix it with the least amount of impact to the user,” Faraday says. “This will make things run smoothly and efficiently when we’re ready to present it to the end users during the workflow walkthrough this fall.”
A better than 33 percent pass rate far surpassed expectations for the first round.
“We got off to a great start,” Higginbotham says. “Round 1 confirmed that our adoption, build, and testing efforts so far have been successful. It also helped us zero in on early opportunities for improvement.”
HealthONE will take a lot of paper out of the electronic medical records system. But during integrated testing, each script is a multi-page printout of a workflow that the analysts follow and then categorize. (Photo by Ethan Giorgetti)
Faraday, Higginbotham, and Donatienne Noel, a consultant with experience with Epic, the HealthONE software vendor, make up the quality assurance group, which facilitates the integrated testing. They serve as a support system to the analysts.
“The testers are executing their scripts diligently; and are seeing the bigger picture of the application and how it is fully integrated,” Noel says. “The practice of testing is allowing them to verify whether the actual build matches the expected results and to ensure that software system defects are at a minimum prior to go-live.”
The overall testing phase is scheduled to run through the end of March and overlap with end-user training, which is scheduled to start Feb. 1. The go-live date is April 28.
“Probably the most encouraging thing is how well the analysts work together in the testing room,” Faraday says. “They go in there with a great mindset of, ‘We’re going to get this script done,’ and they really work as a team.”
UConn Health welcomes Bruce Metz as chief information officer starting Sept. 11.
“UConn Health has a wealth of opportunity and extraordinary capabilities including possibilities presented by the one UConn model. I am very excited to be joining such a talented team and look forward to helping the organization achieve even greater levels of excellence in research, teaching, and clinical care by capitalizing on advances in technology,” said Metz.
With experience at academic institutions like Tufts, Rider, and Princeton, he has twice led large organizational electronic health record transformations, once at Thomas Jefferson in Philadelphia, and more recently bringing EPIC to Lahey Health in Burlington, Massachusetts where he served as senior vice president and chief information officer.
In this role, he will report to leadership both at the University and UConn Health.
“In our model, it’s essential to have someone with the kind of experience to navigate all the challenges and deliver that reliable, high-quality product for the thousands of users – staff and patients – who rely on it every day,” commented Dr. Andy Agwunobi, EVP, and CEO of UConn Health. “I am therefore extremely excited that Bruce will be joining us.”
“As the first UConn Health CIO under our one university movement, I know Bruce will help us find ways to work together, leverage learning, find opportunity and start us down a path where collaboration makes us stronger together than we could be independently,” said Michael Mundrane, Vice Provost and CIO, University of Connecticut.
Metz received a B.S. degree in industrial and management engineering from Columbia University, and an M.A. in organizational development and Ph.D. in applied psychology from New York University.
Metz assumes duties from Denise Purington who has acted as interim CIO since December. Denise will stay engaged as long as needed to support a smooth transition.
“UConn Health leadership is grateful to Denise for the leadership, perspective, and stability she brought to the organization under her leadership,” added Dr. Agwunobi.
Christopher Carroll, Director, Ancillary Applications, UConn HealthONE (Photo by Chris DeFrancesco)
The HealthONE Epic software does not work by itself, it relies on a number of third-party systems and must integrate with these non-Epic systems.
Between existing and new systems, the HealthONE directors, with support from Procurement Operations and Contracts (and sometimes Epic), had to negotiate contracts with about 70 vendors. We’re close to having these contracts finalized, which is a major milestone.
More than 40 of the 70 systems required test systems to be in place. This would allow the interfacing between Epic and the third-party system in a non-production environment, while the current production systems were left intact.
Once the contracts were signed, we were able to get started on many mini-projects. This involves project teams including:
Departmental subject matter experts (SMEs)
Server team
Desktop team
Networking
Project managers
Analysts
Clinical engineers
Integration specialists
Vendors
When a test system was needed, we assessed and ordered the hardware, and put a test system in place. When necessary, we initiated project upgrades.
It’s a complex task to move through these steps. If information is to flow accurately between HealthONE and the third-party application, often there is “translation” work involved, since architecture in each application is different. This translation of the data requires considerable analysis. We built and tested interfaces, with a deadline for all the test systems and functionally tested interfaces to be ready at the start of the Integrated testing, July 31.
All this was done while balancing the other normal hospital functions, other Epic-related SME responsibilities, Epic build, and testing. SMEs from the departments have been, and will continue to be, involved in validation of the interfacesd test results. Validation will continue as the project progresses.
As you can see, it is a true team effort across UConn Health. Just as “Rome was not built in a day,” nor will be the HealthONE project.
Nurses and medical assistants serve as subject matter experts to test Lab Orders at the Point of Care workflows. (Photo by Ethan Giorgetti)
HealthONE is drawing lots of attention across the organization as providers and employees obtain their first hands-on view of Epic workflows. End User Acceptance Application Testing (EUAT) is in full swing as HealthONE teams are facilitating testing of specific workflows within their build with their subject matter experts (SMEs). SMEs are active participants to test-drive workflows such as:
By the end of the month, the Ambulatory team will have held 55 script review sessions across their applications with audiences of up to 10 SMEs.
“Users attending ambulatory testing so far have been very pleased,” says Ambulatory Director Kathy Noel. “They expressed appreciation for the opportunity to test-drive HealthONE with UConn Health decisions built in. The common theme expressed was a release of anxiety and ‘it seems easier than I thought it would be.’”
A script is a series of steps that mimic workflows. Scripts are used to help determine whether an application will work as intended.
Testing of Health Information Management applications (Photo by Chris DeFrancesco)
In the world of Access and Revenue Cycle Applications, nine sessions are covering more than 20 scripts for workflows including:
Payment Posting
Hospital Coding
Admitting Patients
Patient Appointments
Referrals
Patient Transport
Patient Check-in
Charge Review
“Thus far our SMEs and end users are excited and are telling us they’re happy with the workflow and functionality,” says Access and Revenue Cycle Director Carolyn Orrell.
The Ancillary applications team has been testing 20 scripts and is also generating valuable feedback.
“It’s providing a crucial clinical perspective on real work needs that may,” says Ancillary Director Christopher Carroll. “For instance, latex allergy: We need to make sure that latex allergy patients are clearly identified, even if this is not caught until the last minute. The supplies will need to be updated to accommodate.”
And Clinical Applications Director Liz Zibell reports the inpatient teams, including Willow (pharmacy), Clinical Documentation, ASAP (emergency department) and Orders, had 17 scripts to review. Their SMEs include physicians, nurses, and representatives from pharmacy, case management, respiratory, physical therapy, and dietary.
“They all had active roles in reviewing workflows pertinent to their daily workflows,” Zibell says. “We had great input for some updates in workflow process, but more importantly our end users seemed to all echo very positive feedback on the build and design of HealthONE to date. All agreed that they saw many improvements available for inpatient care coming in April 2018.”
The group tasked with implementing UConn Health’s new electronic medical record system, HealthONE, is preparing to start another major step.
The testing phase, which got underway in May, moves into the first of five rounds of integrated testing starting July 31. In the 18 weeks that follow, analysts will test “integrated scripts” to uncover potential defects. The scripts, which mimic current workflows, practices and processes, serve as a way to ensure processes within HealthONE’s clinical, patient access, and revenue cycle applications will work when the system goes live.
“It’s known as integrated testing because it verifies that workflows affecting multiple departments, applications or interfaces can be carried out successfully in HealthONE and across all the external systems we interface with,” says Bryan Kerr, interim assistant vice president for HealthONE.
Bringing HealthONE online is a six-phase undertaking. Testing is the third, and longest, phase. Other types of testing already have started. The first round of what’s known as “end-user testing,” in which health care providers and other subject-matter experts try out the system and provide feedback, runs through next week. Testing is scheduled to run into next spring and overlap with the training phase.
“We are nine months away from go-live, and we’re right on track,” says Denise Purington, interim chief information officer. “We continue to receive satisfactory evaluations and are hitting critical milestones.”
HealthONE Training
Upcoming Information Sessions
Main Building
Food Court Lobby
Tuesday, July 25
Thursday, July 27
Tuesday, Aug. 8
Outpatient Pavilion 5th Floor, Cafeteria
Tuesday, July 25
Thursday, July 27
Tuesday, Aug. 8
Thursday, Aug. 10
All times 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.
UConn Health gets a monthly progress report from the HealthONE vendor, Epic, which provides the software, training and support.
HealthONE is looking for staff with the appropriate skills to be a member of the HealthONE Credentialed Trainer group. More information about this role is available at one of the training information sessions or by emailing kirobinson@uchc.edu.
The HealthONE website is being updated and will have more frequent and timely updates as the April 28, 2018, go-live date nears.
In the coming weeks, UConn Health IT staff will start installing computers, monitors, and other hardware in departments needing technology upgrades for HealthONE to work optimally. IT will work with managers on scheduling to minimize disruptions.
HealthONE project directors working on the 7th floor of University Tower, from left, Liz Zibell, Kathy Noel, Carolyn Orrell, and Christopher Carroll. (Photo by Kristin Wallace)
An essential part of HealthONE’s electronic health record (EHR) implementation process, set to go live on April 28, 2018, is the ongoing work of UConn Health IT Department’s two assistant vice presidents and director, and four HealthONE project directors in collaboration with many analysts, architects and engineers.
This management team works closely with the HealthONE leadership team of Denise Purington, BSN, interim CIO; Dr. Dirk Stanley, CMIO; and newly arrived Bryan Kerr, HealthONE’s interim assistant vice president.
The managers oversee the planning, implementation and management process of various information technology needs and HealthONE’s specific EPIC applications.
We would like to introduce you to the IT and HealthONE management team and hear what they think are the ultimate perks and benefits of UConn Health’s upcoming EHR system.
Robert Darby, AVP of IT Strategic Projects and Clinical Systems manages the HealthONE’s team charged with helping to ensure data from existing systems and those systems that are not scheduled to be replaced by EPIC are incorporated into the HealthONE system and available to clinicians and support staff within the HealthONE applications. He also oversees the teams who are developing the necessary operational reports and analytic and business intelligence tools that will be used to manage the business unit, support quality reporting and business and clinical transformation. Some of the tools they use from EPIC include Bridges, Data Courier and Cogito. In addition to the HealthONE team, Darby manages the Clinical Application Support Team, Project Managers and Clinical Informatics Teams that support all non-HealthONE applications and clinical implementations that play a vital role in the HealthONE implementation project. Along with over 9 years at UConn Health he has 20 years of health care IT experience in implementation, support, management and integration of clinical systems and environments. Best perk of HealthONE? Moving from a best of breed (many individual systems) systems approach to a single unified UConn Health enterprise solution. Number one benefit of HealthONE for UConn Health? Gaining access to information stored within a single database will allow us to act quicker to provider better care to our patients as well as better quality reporting for our patient population and research partners.
Michael Catrini, AVP of Enterprise Technology Systems manages the HealthONE team responsible for connecting our data center to the EPIC data center in Wisconsin. He also manages the team that will ensure the correct HealthONE applications and equipment are installed on thousands of end user devices across the organization. He brings over 20 years of clinical IT experience to the project, including two previous enterprise EHR installations. Best perk? Reducing the number of applications needed to treat patients. Number one benefit? Speed of access to the patient data. The users will be able to quickly reach the correct data at the correct time during patient care.
Carrie Gray, director of Information Security oversees the HealthONE Security Coordinators responsible for building, maintaining and educating users about the security of the HealthONE system. Additionally, she manages the Information Security team responsible for establishing and coordinating the development, management and implementation of information security technologies, policies, standards and procedures for protecting UConn Health’s confidential data and critical systems. Best perk? The ability to access multiple functions with a single user ID. Number one benefit? A streamlined approach to granting access to the system based on a user’s responsibilities.
The four HealthONE project directors from left, Carolyn Orrell, Christopher Carroll, Kathy Noel, and Liz Zibell. (Photo by Kristin Wallace)
Liz Zibell, RN, MSN oversees HealthONE’s Clinical applications named ASAP (emergency department), Willow (pharmacy), Stork (obstetrics and labor and delivery) along with the Orders, Clinical Documentation and Infection Control modules and functions. For this role she brings more than 11 years of EHR experience. She has previously managed the clinical informatics teams at UConn Health and served as a clinical transformation specialist for the Cerner Corporation. Her nursing background includes experience in the NICU, pediatrics, home health, and clinical research settings. Best perk? The strength of the clinical team and their skill sets which will enhance the HealthONE application. Number one benefit?A safer and more robust data environment for our patients and staff.We will all get there together.
Carolyn Orrell, MBA is responsible for HealthONE’s Access and Revenue Cycle applications which are named Cadence (scheduling), Grand Central (transport, bed planning), Prelude (registration), Resolute HB and PB (hospital billing and professional billing and claims), and HIM/Identity (Health Information Management). She has over 20 years of experience in healthcare IT. She has served in various project management and leadership roles for the implementation of clinical and revenue cycle financial systems and EHRs. In addition, she also attained her Six Sigma Green Belt from the Juran Institute. Best perk? The new functionality and streamlined processes. Number one benefit? The EPIC functionality and new third party solutions that will benefit our patients, providers, and staff.
Kathy Noel leads the Ambulatory applications for HealthONE. Her scope of responsibility spans physician office workflows in Ambulatory and Orthopedics, Healthy Planet (population health), MyChart and CareLink (patient and community engagement applications), Canto and Haiku (mobility applications), and Research Studies. She began her IT healthcare journey 28 years ago at the Hospital of St. Raphael, then St. Francis, and arrived nearly 8 years ago at UConn Health as a project manager for the rollout of NextGen. She has managed the development of many clinical applications across the continuum with insight into workflows of many hospital departments. Best perk? The integration the HealthONE system will provide to connect all the dots between our currently separate systems and the ‘one-stop-shopping’ advantages this gives to our clinicians and our patients. Number one benefit? HealthONE will provide us with transparency and reporting that has previously been unattainable.
Christopher M. Carroll, MBA, PMP directs HealthONE’s Ancillary applications. He oversees the applications called Beacon (oncology), Beaker (lab), Radiant (radiology and cardiology) and the Optime/Anesthesia (operating rooms and anesthesia) modules for HealthONE. Chris has been with UConn Health’s IT department for the last 7 years. Prior to HealthONE, he was project manager of numerous initiatives including Banner and NextGen. Chris has experience as a consultant, as well as holding various positions across healthcare, insurance, higher education, administrative and financial organizations. Best perk? The integration of so much clinical information in one place will streamline many workflows. Number one benefit? It will readily provide patient information to the fingertips of those providing patient care and to those ancillary areas performing tests and procedures.
We encourage you to reach out to any of these leaders with questions or concerns. We also want to thank all the IT and HealthONE team members who are working to deliver the HealthONE system by April 2018 and all those in the organization who have participated in design sessions. Without everyone’s involvement we couldn’t have gotten as far as we have today.
After fourteen years with UConn Health, assistant vice president for HealthONE Roberta Luby, will retire on May 1. (Photo by Frank Barton)
After fourteen years with UConn Health, in Strategic Projects, Clinical Systems and currently as assistant vice president for HealthONE, Roberta Luby will retire on May 1.
“By far, HealthONE – replacing our existing aging clinical infrastructure – is the most interesting and challenging thing I have done here,” said Roberta. “From first presentation in 2012, to RFP in June of 2015, to where we are today – about a year from go-live – it’s been a ride I will never forget.”
“Roberta is a proven leader who knows how to get things done,” said Carolle Andrews, chief administrative officer. “We will miss her smile, her steady hand, and the wealth of experience she brought to critical organizational projects.”
Senior leadership is working to develop an interim plan and more details will be forthcoming in the next few weeks, according to Denise Purington, interim chief information officer.
“HealthOne is a massive undertaking with ramifications across the organization,” said Dr. Andy Agwunobi, “we really appreciate Roberta’s role in getting us well down the road toward a high quality implementation by April of next year.”
“We have an extremely talented and committed HealthONE team in place, poised to achieve a wonderful transformation. I look forward to seeing the results after go-live and the impact it will have on all parts of the organization,” Roberta concluded.
The road to our electronic medical record system, HealthONE, continues full speed ahead. Roberta Luby, assistant vice president for HealthONE, says they’re more than halfway through the “building” phase of the project. They’ve started holding adoption sessions in which managers and key users review the dashboards that will help them manage patient care, quality measures, and financial results. Watch the video to learn how your feedback has played a critical role in the project’s success so far.
Roberta Luby and Dean Moroniti from UConn Health’s HealthONE team (Photo by Chris DeFrancesco)
In less than a year and a half, UConn Health will be using a new integrated electronic medical records system that will enable patient information to seamlessly and securely follow patients wherever they go, both within and outside of UConn Health.
Informally known as “Epic,” which is the name of the vendor, UConn Health has adopted the name “HealthONE” for this suite of applications designed to make the delivery of health care safer and more efficient.
A team of 100 specially trained employees and consultants has been working on the intricate 23-month undertaking to program HealthONE for UConn Health since May. The project is in the “adoption and build” phase, which is nearing the end of its second wave next month. Here is where a lot of the configuration takes place.
“In the scheduled Dec. 13 through 15 Adoption 2 session, we will be pulling in managers and subject matter experts from across the clinical and financial organizations to look at the dashboards that will help them manage our patient care, quality measures, and financial results,” says Roberta Luby, assistant vice president for HealthONE. “We will also discuss the reports that will be available out of the system, and determine which reports they are going to need to manage their day when we go live.”
For example, a dashboard tool could aggregate data on admitted patients that today may take several hours a day to identify and analyze. The time saved then can be spent on caring for patients, ensuring safety and improving outcomes.
“We’re going to show them what that dashboard might look like, where that information might show up, and what quality measures are available, and let them decide what kind of data they need to see, how often, and when,” Luby says.
Major milestones achieved to date include completion of the direction phase, where current and potential future workflows were reviewed, and the certification of 80 members of the HealthONE team.
Next after the adoption and building phase is the testing phase, an eight-month period starting next May that involves running thousands of scenarios to make sure the system is designed and operating as intended. During that time, a team of trainers also will be working to prepare the training materials and plan the training logistics.
The timeline calls for end-user training to start in early 2018, two-to-three-months before HealthONE goes live in April 2018.
“This system will establish one patient record whether the individual is coming to the ED, an outpatient clinic, or has an admission in the hospital,” Luby says. “It’s going to allow us to see everything that occurred on that patient and have one view into his or her allergies, medications, procedures and immunizations, allowing safe, efficient care regardless of where that patient is in our care environment.”
HealthONE also will allow the exchange of patient information with other EMR, enabling UConn Health to send and receive data from other hospitals and practices that may be using a different system.
“We’ll be able to assemble all the data needed for a patient to enable a provider to care for that patient safely,” Luby says.
UConn Health welcomes Bruce Metz as chief information officer starting Sept. 11.
