The Undiscovered Country

I had the privilege of visiting Valley View Hospital, a terrific health system in Glenwood Springs. Their go live on the Epic EHR last week went very smoothly.

Thanks to the hard work of Foster ‘Fiji’ Goss MD, CMIO and Heather Gardner MD, ACMIO, the organization’s physicians were well prepared and met the challenge of go live day with philosophical calm. That is rare, and a testament to their planning.

Thanks also to Jon Pell MD and Heather Holmstrom MD from the UCHealth Senior PIG team (physician informatics group) for coaching and guiding our newest partners into the Epic EHR community.

It truly takes a village. We have taken over the local hotels and have many dozens (probably over a hundred) staff on site providing at-the-elbow support.

The weather also cooperated, it is a balmy 60s in the canyon and in the springs. A soak in the mineral hot springs nearby is the perfect balm for a 10,000 step day supporting docs, hospital units and busy clinics.

Lessons learned?

• Listening is a superpower. Every go live we learn something new about providing care to patients. Shutting up and listening unlocks the possibilities. Sometimes listening means spotting a workflow improvement not related to the EHR! Win-win!
• Waiting is also a superpower. Don’t overconfigure EHR tools in the first month. Wait until users get the hang of how personalizable the tools are before overdesigning and creating more work for everybody.
• Managing transitions: Read the Book. In short, let people grieve their ending of the old ways, let people wander in the neutral zone exploring possibilities. Don’t slam them with new beginnings, everyone goes through transition at their own pace. Of course go live forces the issue … let’s hope you gave enough lead time to let these emotions surface and pass.
• Rounding is a joy: you get to see amazing people at work, and the entire spectrum of care in hospital and in clinics— the variety is humbling.
• Colleagues are what make this job a joy: smart technologists, trainers, clinicians, are all great people. Solving problems in the moment as they arise, what a rush.

Thanks also to my Epic IT colleagues and informaticists who sat around the campfire last weekday evening to listen to an impromptu ukulele EHR parody unplugged concert. The potential audience for ‘ukulele EHR parody song’ is limited to a few hundred people worldwide, so I don’t take it for granted. I am grateful to my besties for singing with me last week.

Songs we sang?

• Valley View Rocky Mountain High (world premiere)
• ChatGPT (to Sweet Caroline)
• Hospital of the Rising Sun
• Epic Man

Valley View Rocky Mountain High lyrics

She went [D]live in the [Em]summer, of her [C]twenty seventh [A]year;

Coming [D]home to a [Em]system she’d never [G]used before

She [D]left Meditech behind her, You might [Em]say she was [C]trained [A]again

You might [D]say she found a [Em]use for her [G]keyboard.

When she [D]first put down her [Em]script pads, her [C]life was [A]far away;

In [D]Hyperspace, [Em]hanging by a [G]thread

But [D]Epic was really [Em]tough for her, and she [C]found it hard to [A]care;

It keeps [D]changing fast, and it’s [Em]hard to stay [G]ahead

[G]Valley View [A]Rocky Mountain [D]high

We’re [G]saving patients and [A]we’re improving [D]lives.

[G]Friends around the [A]keyboard, [D]keeping our quality [G]high.

[A]Rocky Mntn [D]high, [Em]Colorado [G]

[A]Rocky Mntn [D]high, [Em]Colorado [G] [A7]

She [D]mastered Epic [Em]chart review, she saw [C]morning vitals[A] flow;

She saw [D]lab results as [Em]far as you can [G]see

And they [D]say that she got crazy once, and hit [Em]control [C]alt [A]delete

She thought she [D]lost her note, but it was [Em]saved in [C]memory [A]

Now she [D]works in quiet [Em]solitude, with a [C]keyboard and a [A]screen;

Making [D]sense of [Em]complex patient [G]history

Her [D]sight has turned [Em]inside herself to [C]try and [A]understand;

The [D]serenity of a [Em]collaborative [C]discharge [A]plan

[G] Valley View [A]Rocky Mountain [D]high

We’re [G]saving patients and [A]we’re improving [D]lives.

[G]Friends around the [A]keyboard [D]keeping our quality [G]high

[A] Rocky Mntn [D]high, [Em]Colorado [G]

[A] Rocky Mntn [D]high, [Em]Colorado [G] [A7]

New songs?!

And a couple of new songs I’m working on: ‘Something in the way she computes’ (Something by the Beatles) and ‘A Bridge to Nirvana’ (Stairway to Heaven). Perhaps these will show up at future talks.

Some of these songs are on my YouTube channel

YouTube.com/@ctlin1

NEWS FLASH: Epic Cosmos Datathon

Tomorrow 4/27 I’m at XGM and RAC15 Monday afternoon 4:30pm in room: ‘A Classic Episode’ Memorial and Cincinnati Childrens’ session on Epic Cosmos Datathon might have a guest appearance by me and my uke. Did you know that ‘Carry On My Wayward Son’ and ‘Epic Cosmos Datathon’ have the same number of syllables? Hmm. And they rhyme.