No matter how well you think you know your EMR, there is more to learn

Multiple personalities (photo Rob Schertzer 2016 taken at Epic)

It was a classroom of over 30 students attending a course on learning "Kaleidoscope" - the Ophthalmology module within Epic's EMR system. Three of us are Ophthalmologists; everyone else is involved in IT at their respective hospitals - trainers, data analysts, programmers. The day started by running through a typical patient exam to benefit the majority in the room who never examined patients. Biggest surprise? We all learned something new.

There is always something to learn by seeing how someone else is using their EMR. Take that thought home with you, sit in when your partner or a colleague when they are seeing a patient, and you will probably learn something new. This was the case for the three of us Ophthalmologists this morning. Although the first few hours were really just meant to help give everyone else an idea of what is involved in an eye exam, when the three of us met over lunch we all felt we learned a few new things. We are each going to head back to our local institutions with shortcuts and tweaks in mind. My right side-panel that shows nothing useful but should be able to show highlights of the patient's active history? The reason for the visit that should trigger the correct HPI for THAT chief complaint instead of a blank free-text comment HPI? No Level of Service calculator at the wrap-up when it should be there? Buttons on the wrap-up screen for the common diagnoses but instead we get a message asking what the diagnosis was supposed to be? Only one pane of text instead of two columns to see more at a glance on the wrap-up screen? Just like we learn a little something from each patient we see - there are always things to learn about our EMR systems.