New electronic consents, surgery scheduling processes to launch in May
A new Epic bundle scheduled to launch in May will include two significant workflow changes that will impact all surgeons and proceduralists, anesthesiologists and many of our specialists.
The first is a move to electronic consents, or E-consents, in all Peaks hospitals. This will be inclusive of all specialties who use consents for procedures, treatments and tests, as well as consents for anesthesia and sedation.
The second is a move to completing all surgery scheduling and preoperative order entry directly in Epic. No more paper orders and faxes. The images below show summary of what’s changing. More detailed descriptions are below.
#1: Electronic Consent Process | Proceduralists and Anesthesia Practitioners
Standardizing procedural, anesthesia and sedation consent forms across all procedures/treatments/tests in all three Intermountain regions
In hospitals, consents will be electronically signed, E-consent, using designated iPads beginning with a Peaks go-live date of Saturday, May 10.
Emergent procedures can be consented on paper, if needed, and in situations for which E-consenting is not feasible.
Paper consents may be completed in clinic prior to the date of service and uploaded into Epic to be available the day of surgery.
Future in-clinic implementation with E-consents TBD.
Key points
Satisfies Utah, Colorado, Idaho and Montana regulatory, legal and compliance requirements.
E-consents reduce the regulatory risk of fields left blank.
Detailed verbiage of risks and alternatives will be documented in H&P or H&P update.
Single procedural consent for all procedures with updated verbiage and reduced administrative workload of managing multiple consents.
E-consents will be electronically stored, eliminating misplaced consents.
Consents will be readily available to view during procedural time-out.
Patient name, DOB, MRN will auto-populate into the consent form.
Provider name will auto-populate into the consent.
Procedure will auto-populate procedure description (free-text).
Procedure and provider’s name can be edited if necessary.
#2: Peaks Epic Surgery Scheduling | Medical Group, affiliated practitioners and clinics that schedule at Intermountain Health Peaks facilities.
Surgery scheduling and preoperative order entry workflow
All applicable parties will electronically schedule procedures directly in Epic and place orders for practitioner review and co-signature. This will replace the current affiliate process of faxing or calling to schedule procedures.
Implementation will begin at Good Samaritan Hospital on Monday, May 12, with rapid implementation at remaining Peaks sites (all dates tentative).
Lutheran, Platte Valley, Saint Joseph: the week of May 26
Holy Rosary, St. James and St. Vincent: the week of June 2
St. Mary’s: the week of June 9
Affiliate clinic staff will be provided with Epic Hyperspace access to allow for case scheduling, placing preoperative orders.
Epic educational resources will be available mid-April.
New tool | OR Marketplace
OR Marketplace: A new interactive platform within Epic that allows a practitioner and/or clinic to identify and request open OR time. They can also release unused OR time to make it available for others to use.
Practitioners and their staff can receive automated notifications when OR time that might be useful becomes available.
Practitioners can receive reminders if their block time may go underutilized.
Why it's important
New processes and tools will streamline workflows for clinics to find OR time.
All virtual process eliminates paper, faxes, phone calls, texts from the scheduling- and order-entry process.
Reduces scheduling errors that result from manual transcription.
Facilitates preoperative order entry at the time of procedure scheduling.
Allows for more optimal use of OR resources by ensuring that unscheduled OR time is available for others to use.
Please contact your onsite chief medical officer with any questions about these upcoming changes.