Epic

What if you could talk directly to your patient's chart? Meet Ask Art. At Tampa General Hospital, clinicians are asking questions about their patients' records and getting cited answers, anchored in the patient's data. Story here: https://lnkd.in/eDH3HMhG

Three exciting announcements. https://www.epic.com/

Emmie answers patients’ health questions within the privacy and context of their medical record. Sutter Health is the first group live. Congrats folks!

TGIF—we're in for a fun weekend of conferences! Join us at #AONL2026 in Chicago (Booth 760) to discuss what’s new in Epic for nursing, including new AI charting capabilities using Art. Swing by our #ACC2026 booth in New Orleans (Booth 312) to learn more about what’s new in Epic for cardiology, including new support for PREVENT risk scoring. Rounding out the weekend, we’ll be at #SHMConverge26 in Nashville (Booth 607) to help physicians and APPs cut clicks and save time.

Operating rooms represent nearly 70% of a hospital’s greenhouse gas production, and waste anesthesia gases are a significant contributor, making up 5-10% of the overall emissions.    Akron Children's posed a challenge to all their departments in 2021 to brainstorm ways that the organization could reduce their carbon footprint. They set out to drop their nitrous oxide use in the operating room by using low-flow anesthesia workflows. Through Epic, they implemented an electronic visual reminder at the beginning of each anesthetic case to consider low-flow anesthesia and immediately saw a 5% reduction in nitrous oxide use.    They began sharing that data with providers and were able to drop their nitrous oxide use by 40%. They furthered their efforts by pulling data from Epic nightly for more real-time feedback and saw an additional 50% reduction—totaling an 85% reduction over four years, despite increased surgical volume.

Intra-articular corticosteroid injection (CSI) is a method to provide short-term reduction in joint pain, particularly for osteoarthritis. Though the chances of complications are low, intra-articular CSI carries the risk of complications, including a rare one known as septic arthritis. This infection in the joint fluid and tissues can lead to rapid joint destruction, bacteremia, and sepsis, with an estimated mortality rate between 10 and 15%. The incidence of septic arthritis following large joint CSI has limited literature due to the variable follow-up periods and inclusion of different injection types and joint, prompting a longer-term investigation to evaluate the incidence, timing, and patient characteristics.     Using SlicerDicer, researchers identified patients diagnosed with septic arthritis within six months of receiving an intra-articular CSI of the hip, knee, or shoulder and found that large joint intra-articular CSI can present up to 16 weeks post-injection, which is well beyond the standard two-week surveillance window. Nearly half of the cases were diagnosed outside of the window, indicating the need for clinicians to maintain suspicion for septic arthritis for up to 16 weeks after injection, especially in high-risk patients.     Read more: Mueller, M.R., Cleland, T., Hileman, C.O. et al. Septic arthritis following intra-articular corticosteroid injections: a retrospective analysis. Arch Orthop Trauma Surg 146, 107 (2026). https://lnkd.in/grRqdiTf

Informaticists at Nationwide Children's Hospital used the Orders Tune-Up report to identify the orders that were most commonly modified by providers in their system. They updated their preference lists to remove duplicative medications and added optimized entries, such as medications with updated defaults for dosage, refills, or formulation.     They deployed the updated preference lists and notified providers but didn’t require any formal training. They reported that physicians made 1.12 fewer changes per order, down from 4.12 on average to 3.00, saving nearly 50 seconds per encounter—a 26% reduction. This efficiency added up to nearly 500 physician hours saved per month across the organization.     Seemingly small optimizations in EHR workflows can add up to significant time savings for providers, giving them time back to spend with patients. 

Emergency Medical Services (EMS) often hold crucial information to guide early trauma care decisions. For example, the environment the patient was found in and how they appeared on initial presentation—which may differ once they arrive at the hospital—can provide additional context and help the emergency department (ED) appropriately triage their acuity.  However, this handover of care can easily be overlooked. Previously, at Carilion Clinic, paramedics left paper copies of patient care reports (PCRs) in the ED for staff to later scan and upload, creating delays and leaving room for error.  To give clinicians access to EMS information earlier in the patient encounter, they implemented standards-based interoperability and can now send completed ePCRs directly into their system through Care Everywhere using ImageTrend Elite. With 20,000 EMS reports received electronically in just the first year, clinicians can access critical pre-hospital data directly in the patient’s chart. Reducing documentation burden, this streamlined workflow also allows EMS crews to return to service sooner after patient handoff.  Read more: https://lnkd.in/ewVPzYSU

MyChart celebrated its 25th birthday at #HIMSS this week. Hope those who stopped by the booth enjoyed their cupcakes!

At #HIMSS26 this week talking about how organizations are using Epic AI like Emmie, Art, and Penny to drive healthcare forward. Plus, a look at what's coming next... https://lnkd.in/gGZ7R3VZ