"Epic" charting

ashleyisawesome, BSN, RN · Jul 19, 2016

We just switched to EPIC in January and it's okay. We do "pre birth visits/phone calls" where the patient comes in or calls in a few weeks before they are due and a nurse fills out most of their admission, so when they come in to be admitted we only have to fill in a few things. Of course some don't do it, or go into preterm labor and don't have a chance to do it, but the admission isn't all that bad. Make use of the tab on the side where you can see "Required Documentation". It will show you what you still need to chart and what was done.

I actually like the Labor charting. I feel like I chart a lot less, but the same information as before. We used to do a lot of double charting, and now it's more streamlined. No reason for me to chart delivery times or cervical checks I did not perform when the doctor is going to be charting them anyway.

Newborn charting in postpartum is a pain, because I end up going into a lot of different tabs and forgetting things (especially the RAPP score, why can't that just be in the assessment tab!). PP charting for mom is pretty easy, I have no complaints there.

Sorry I work night shift and have only done 1 or 2 discharges, so I don't know the ins and outs of it, but from what I recall it was pretty simple. Again, check the tab and click "Req Doc" and it will show if you are missing anything.

quazar · Jul 20, 2016

I have done Epic for L&D at a few hospitals, and I will say this: it's different at each hospital, to a degree, what they require for charting and what they don't. The hospital where I learned Epic for L&D had a very long, complicated, not streamlined form of charting, and it really DID take forever to do anything for one patient. On the other hand, at another hospital where I worked, they had Epic super streamlined and tailored to L&D, and the charting was fast and easy and I could fly through it no problem.

As far as your navigator tabs (triage, admission, discharge), those are just something that take time learning to get through, and repetition will make you faster. When I first started doing the triage/admission navigators I was really slow, but now I can fly through it because I'm used to it and know what to expect.

Epic can be a complicated system, but once you learn it it's actually a decent EMR in my opinion.

Edited to add: the previous poster hits on another crucial tip, the "required documentation" tab. I always keep that open on my sidebar, and it makes my life SO much easier. That feature is a huge help.