title: Communication Patterns in the Perioperative Environment During Epic Electronic Health Record System Implementation.
abstract: In April 2016, Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) went live with the Epic electronic health records (EHR) system, replacing a variety of EHRs that previously existed in different departments throughout the hospital. At the time of implementation, the Vocera® Badge Communication System, a wireless hands-free communication device distributed to perioperative team members, had increased perioperative communication flow and efficiency. As a quality improvement effort to better understand communication patterns during an EHR go-live, we monitored our Vocera call volume and user volume before, during and after our go-live. We noticed that call volume and user volume significantly increased during our immediate go-live period and quickly returned to baseline levels. We also noticed that call volume increased during periods of unplanned EHR downtime long after our immediate go-live period. When planning the implementation of a new EHR, leadership must plan for and support this critical communication need at the time of the go-live and must also be aware of these needs during unplanned downtime.
authors.affiliation: Massachusetts General Hospital, 55 Fruit Street, WHT 400, Boston, MA, 02114, USA. tfriend@partners.org.
authors.forename: Tynan H
authors.initials: TH
authors.lastname: Friend
authors.affiliation: Massachusetts General Hospital, 55 Fruit Street, WHT 400, Boston, MA, 02114, USA.
authors.forename: Samantha J
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Jennings
authors.affiliation: Massachusetts General Hospital, 55 Fruit Street, WHT 400, Boston, MA, 02114, USA. wlevine@partners.org.
authors.forename: Wilton C
authors.initials: WC
authors.lastname: Levine
mesh_terms: D003142:Communication; D017598:Efficiency, Organizational; D057286:Electronic Health Records / Q000458:organization & administration*; D006801:Humans; D010348:Patient Care Team; D059035:Perioperative Period / Q000379:methods*; D058996:Quality Improvement / Q000458:organization & administration; D059015:Wireless Technology
keywords: EHR/EMR implementation; Electronic health records; Epic; Perioperative communication; Vocera