Baptist OneCare mission control is a call center of sorts staffed by a team of experts in all the application areas that went live on March 11. These experts are grouped into areas—access and revenue, ancillary, ambulatory, inpatient, technical, users and security, reporting and intake center—and that’s how the mission control center is arranged. Signage identifies each section and name tents are perched above each computer processing unit to identify each expert. Black polo shirts with the Epic logo and dark bottoms quickly identify BOC team members. The overall atmosphere is collaborative, open and fun.
“We have a lot of fun, but we get a lot of work done, too,” said Edna Jernigan, analyst and BOC lead for Cadence and Welcome.
This atmosphere has made it easier for colleagues working rotating 8- and 12-hour shifts to respond to calls within 30 minutes. While the volume of calls is not excessive for most areas, it is average for a go-live of this size. Between Monday and about 3 p.m. on Tuesday (actual go-live day), the mission control intake center had received approximately 1,000 calls.
“It’s been really quiet for us today, but a lot of our issues we won’t see until week two,” said Heather Ritchey, Epic health information management application coordinator.
More calls and complicated issues are expected in weeks two and three after the initial go-live because of the integrated nature of the system.
“It’s been steady,” said Beth Helsley, an ambulatory lead who works on Epic Care Link. “I think our users are coming up with good questions that show that they have a lot of interest and that shows that they’re really getting in and moving around and maneuvering through the system.”
As onsite staff members’ questions or calls increase, the BOC mission control team will be equipped to respond. In addition to regular BOC colleagues, there are more than 60 Epic staff members working onsite and at mission control during the first three weeks after go-live to help troubleshoot and respond to issues.
Overall, the first day of go-live went ‘amazingly well.’
“We have a great team,” said Jernigan. “People have worked very hard. We haven’t had any major issues, and I think it’s because of the hard work and dedication of the people on the teams and our leadership.”
The next group of Baptist entities is scheduled to go live on Aug. 1.