As an Epic Certified Bridges Analyst NVT 2014, Robert has over 24 years of Integration, Enterprise Application Software/Hardware Support and Maintenance experience. He has significant integration experience with Full Life Cycle Implementations, HL7, Healthcare Integration Workflow, Legacy Conversion and Ensemble Interfaces.
Q. You have wide-ranging experience in many disciplines. From that broad point of view, what kinds of things have you learned about best practices in the field of electronic medical records?
For the past 12 years, I have been working in the area of Integration. This involves Data Migrations/Conversions and HL7 Interfaces. Large Epic implementations require a great deal of planning and coordination. Determining the scope is always the first and most important task. This involves numerous analysis sessions with:
- The hospital integration team to establish the current state of integration
- The application analyst to establish what legacy systems will be sunset
- The legacy systems to determine the HL7 interface specifications with the new EMR (Epic)
All of this is contingent upon the scope of the Epic applications that are being purchased and implemented. If the scope is not well established at the beginning of the project, then scope creep at the middle or towards the end can become problematic and cause a delay of a Go-Live or negatively impact the Go-Live readiness position.
Q. How did you become interested in Epic Consulting?
I was brought back by a previous client to consult with the integration team for an Epic ‘08 implementation. This was my first exposure and I have been working on Epic projects ever since. Once I became certified in Epic Bridges (their interface engine), I was hooked.
Q. You were recently involved in a major Epic Project. Could you tell us something about that?
I am working as an Integration Team Lead managing data conversions and the implementation of real time interfaces. I was fortunate enough to be engaged from the beginning and participate in the discovery tasks. Our biggest hurdle has been scope creep. While taking data conversions live we are still working through the integration pieces. It’s been a challenge because there are quite a few requests to include new interfaces. Bringing in additional interfaces towards the end of the project presents a risk to the project and has Administration on high alert. The added pressure is not always pleasant but we always do our best to make our clients happy without adding too much risk to the project as our goal is to Go-Live on time and on budget.
Q. Could you describe the scope of this Epic project in more detail?
There are approximately 10 hospitals and over 200 ambulatory offices. We are going live with a Ambulatory Pilot (7-10 offices) in June ’15 and a big bang Go-Live of all other ambulatory offices/facilities in July ’15. We will follow-up in Feb ’16 with an Acute Care Big Bang Go-Live. All but 2 hospitals. The last 2 hospitals will Go-Live in Oct ’16. We are implementing over 200 interfaces and delivering 6 different data types through conversions (Demographics, Vitals, Immunizations, Lab Results, and Shells of Diagnostic Results).
Q. How did your career experience help prepare you for success in this project?
My career started back in 1989 as a programmer. I worked in that capacity for two different employees for 14+ years. Then I had an opportunity to work as a consultant at a hospital. I consulted with the integration team and did data conversions, report conversions, and data flow conversions. Later I was introduced to the HL7 interface world and I have not looked back. HL7 interfaces and data migrations/conversions have been my forte for 12 years.
Q. What are you excited about for the future?
Epic continues to grow in technological advances that better the product each year. Every Epic project teaches me something new. We also work with HL7 engines in integration that present yearly enhancements and occasionally a new interface engine. I like the fact that there is always something new to learn and apply.