***For RWJBH and Rutgers Providers Live on Epic***

November 14, 2023

To all who celebrate, Happy Diwali!

• Wishing you, your family, and your friends knowledge, happiness, peace, wisdom, truth, and prosperity.
• Enjoy the Festival of Lights!

Provider Top Stories

Attn: Physician Leaders and Practice Managers! Share these key items in your meetings:

Ambulatory and Inpatient Providers:

• Information Blocking / Open Notes Reminder

Inpatient Providers:

• L&D Providers: "Prepare" for L&D OR Procedures to order blood
• Refresh: Provider Care Teams & Finding Patients in Epic

Ambulatory Providers

• Use Epic's Express Lane
• Reminder: Close Encounters & Three-Day Encounter Closure Timelines explained

Information Blocking / Open Notes Reminder:

Patients may view results and clinical notes in real-time via RWJBH MyChart Patient Portal

• The Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) enforcement of information blocking provisions, including OpenNotes (sharing clinical notes with patients), expanded on October 6, 2022.
• Click here to read the Full SBAR: Information Blocking/OpenNotes Scope Expansion.

Open Notes Impact on Lab Results:

This means that patients may view lab results before their provider has had opportunity to review them.

• Labs that meet the requirements for delaying to the portal will have the option to manually release the result at the time of order entry.
• The provider will then be responsible for sending the result to the portal at their discretion.

Open Notes Impact on Clinical Notes:

• Documents that are permitted to be withheld from the portal (e.g., behavioral health notes) will have the option to unselect “share w/ patient" at the time of Document Signature.
• A Reason for Blocking will be required to withhold the note.

L&D Providers: Ordering OR Blood

Prepare for L&D OR Procedures - Ordering Blood

• When ordering blood for L&D OR patients, a “Prepare” order must be entered in advance or placed intra-procedure by the anesthesiologist or surgeon.
• Reason: The Blood Bank receives notification of potential blood needs based on that "Prepare" order.
• The order can be signed or signed/held (whichever is appropriate for your patient).
• Please click here for the "Placing a Blood Order in the OR" tip sheet.
• Key Takeaway: Blood on hold for the OR has been replaced with ordering the Prepare order for the products in Epic

Provider Care Teams Refresh - Finding Your Patients in Epic

• In Epic, there are multiple ways to locate your patients.

If you are part of a Provider Care Team, it's easy to sign yourself into a Team during Sign-in:

• When you log into Epic with your unique Username and password, you will be prompted with a Sign In pop-up to assign yourself to the Provider Team.
• Verify the following information when you complete Sign-In:
• Your start and end time
• Your role
• Your Service
• Your Contact info
• Select your Provider Team(s)
• This allows you to select Your Patients.
• You can also click Select All.

Adding a Patient to the Provider Care Team:

• Go to Patient Lists.
• Search for and highlight the patient on the Patient List.
• Right-click on the patient and select Treatment Team from the menu.

• Search for and select the Provider Care Team or select Add Team and select the Provider Care Team from the list.
• Click Accept.

Updating Attending Provider for Multiple Patients:

• Go to Patient Lists.
• Hold the Shift or Ctrl key on your keyboard and highlight multiple patients on the Patient List.
• Right-click and select Assign Others from the menu.

• Select the Provider, Relationship, Start Date and Start Time.
• You may also update the End Date, End Time, and Override 1st Contact, if necessary!
• Click Accept.

• Click here to review the associated Provider Care Teams Tip Sheet.
• We are providing the definitions below to further explain Epic Terms related to finding patients.

Ambulatory Provider:

Use Epic's Express Lane Functionality!

Epic’s Express Lane is an efficiency tool that allows a provider to document a repetitive/straightforward visit on a single screen with just a few clicks. 

There are currently approximately 120 Express Lanes available for use for various types of visits. 

Some Express Lane examples include Asthma, Medicare Wellness Visit, Well Child visits, Chronic Cough, Cerumen Impaction, and Urinary Tract Infection.

Documentation elements available for use in Express Lanes vary by topic but can include:

• Note templates
• Reasons for Visit
• Diagnoses
• Orders
• Levels of Service
• Patient Instructions
• Follow-up instructions
• A Communication Management section
• Charge Capture section

Epic's Express Lane Q&A:

Express Lane Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Q: Where can an Express Lane be found in Epic?

A: Navigate to the Plan tab, SmartSets section. An Express Lane can be found by searching for the topic to be documented.  

Express Lanes are denoted by the right-facing, multi-colored chevron.

Q: Sometimes an Express Lane will automatically launch. Why does this happen? Is it required for use?

A: If a visit meets specific criteria, an Express Lane can be setup to either be suggested or to launch automatically. A few criteria examples that can be set for a visit to match to include visit type, department, and reason for visit.

If the Express Lane automatically launches, click Exit to remove the Express Lane, if it does not meet the needs of the visit.

Q: Can I save and customize an Express Lane?

A: Some, but not all, Express Lanes allow a copy to be saved. The Express Lane can then be customized to personalize the note template with a created SmartPhrase or SmartText. In addition, Diagnoses, Orders, Level of Service, and Follow-up instructions can be saved as preselected defaults along with saving preferred order details.

If the Express Lane can be customized, a Manage User Versions hyperlink will be present next to the name of the Express Lane.

• When the drop-down arrow is clicked, a Create My Version option is available, allowing for personalization.

Reminder: Complete Your Encounters in a Timely Fashion

• RWJBH's Chart Completion Standards Policy reflects Joint Commission, CMS, and NJDOH patient safety best practices:
• Ambulatory - A best practice is to close your encounters within 24- hours.
• Encounter closure within 3-Days is mandatory. 

To avoid escalation, please close encounters within 3-days!

Click here to review RWJBH's Chart Completion Standards Policy.

Three-Day Encounter Closure Timeline Explained

• Whether your patient Encounter is at 9:30 AM or 4:30 PM today, the 3-Day Encounter Closure time frame will end at midnight two days later.
• Please see the grid below for additional information about ensuring you are following RWJBH's 3-Day Encounter Closure Policy!

Recent Newsletter Content Reminders

Refresh on Recent Newsletter Stories:

If you missed an important communication in last week's newsletters, click the links below for an efficient review:

• E-Consents
• Use Haiku and Secure Chat to Connect with Clinicians
• Discharge Medication Reconciliation Reminder: Updates Require Re-Reconciliation
• Level of Care Reminder
• Helpful Tips for Blood Transfusions/Ordering Blood
• Pre-Op Orders Required to Reserve OR Time (including Tip Sheets!)
• Reminder: Use QGenda/On Call Finder
• Ambulatory Providers - Select Bill Area
• Personalization remains a priority

Dedicated Provider Support

Wave 5 Providers, please Save these Important Numbers:

• Dedicated Provider Help Desk: 855-453-1948
• Epic Training Provider Hotline: 732-658-4820
• Inpatient Providers and Clinicians, 24/7 support is available! Dial the numbers below from an inside Hospital line!

Wave 5 Providers, here are your Go-Live Support Resources:

To be viewed on your mobile device:

• Wave 5 Provider Go-Live Pocket Guide



To be printed and posted:

• Wave 5 Go-Live Help at a Glance Flyer
• Epic: How to Get Help flyer
• Wave 5: Where to Locate Heritage Data Flyer
• Wave 5 QR Code Flyer
• Components of Hyperspace.

To view the unit crosswalk documents, click the links below:

• Clara Maass Medical Center Unit Crosswalk
• Cooperman Barnabas Medical Center Unit Crosswalk
• Newark Beth Israel Medical Center Unit Crosswalk
• Wave 5 Unit Crosswalk Master

Good Humor

Heartfelt thanks to Ronica Velardi, Epic Communications Team Lead, for this week's Good Humor submission.

Epic: How to Get Help

Review the Epic How to Get Help Flyer!

• The "Epic How to Get Help" Flyer includes instructions to:
• Open a Help Desk Ticket
• Check The Status of an Open Ticket
• Reopen a closed ticket
• Enter an Epic Enhancement Request
• Click here to view the Epic: How to Get Help flyer!

Live Site Epic Provider Print Edition!

• Click here for a printable PDF of this week's Live Site Epic Provider Newsletter.

Phone a friend:

Our cell numbers are available below.

Please call with any questions or concerns.

RWJBH-Rutgers Medical Leadership Team