Nurse2It1000

Excellent Point! I once was asked by a physician, if Epic is the Cadillac of EHR systems, why am I sitting here creating my smart “things” and making favorites? I responded, with these questions - “when you bought your last car, did the radio already have you favorite stations? Was the seat positioned in the right place? What about the mirrors?”

I completely understand your frustration, but you may be surprised to learn that it is not always the EHR program's fault. In many cases, it is the hospital's IT department that is responsible for issues related to the EHR. All EHRs are able to support a range of clinical workflows, from basic to complex. However, It is important to remember that EHRs need to be regularly maintained to ensure they are up to date and support changing clinical workflows. EHR vendors release new content, updates, and optional add-ons, just as cars require regularly scheduled maintenance, updates, and sometimes new parts to run smoothly. It is important for hospitals to properly configure the system to meet user's needs, just as one would maintain oil, tires, and gas in a car. Hospitals' IT departments often fall short in enabling EHR workflows and maintaining EHRs as required. To address this issue, Clinicians need to hold IT accountable for ensuring EHRs contain the latest software capabilities. I would suggest for every issue you find, I would open a IT ticket, as well as an Incident Ticket. It's very common for multidisciplinary teams to review all incident tickets and require follow-up measures. This could be a great way for clinicians to voice their frustrations and keep IT accountable.