Update: Epic upgrade complete

IT & Epic

Update: The Epic Feb/May 22 upgrade is complete.

As a reminder, Epic will experience some downtime overnight (Tuesday night, Nov. 15, into Wednesday morning) while Ballad Health applies the February and May 22 versions.

What do I need to know?

The Epic upgrade will start to be applied around 12:01 a.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 16. During this time, the Epic system will not be completely offline, but it will be placed in a Level 3 – Downtime “Read-Only” status for approximately two hours. Information cannot be entered into Epic during this downtime, and IT will send an advisory notice as soon as the upgrade is clear.

Why are we doing this?

These latest versions of Epic will provide improvements to Hospital Billing, Willow Ambulatory, MyChart and more. The upgrade will also assist with the future transition to Epic Hyperdrive, a web-enabled version of Epic that will streamline workflow and integrate more smoothly with other systems.

How should I prepare for the downtime?

All team members should review the following checklist before Wednesday, Nov. 16:

  • Clinicians should review their facility’s downtime procedures and log in to their unit’s downtime BCA device. It is vital that team members log in to their unit’s BCA devices prior to downtime so the BCA technology will recognize their login credentials.
  • All departments should ensure they have their appropriate, up-to-date clinical downtime forms.
  • On or before Wednesday, Nov. 16, frontline team members need to confirm that current patient information is flowing into the BCA downtime devices. If the information is not current, you should open an IT ticket immediately.
  • From the Ballad Home Page, users should review Epic upgrade training information located under the Epic Upgrade tile.

If you need help during this upgrade period, you can reach out to the IT Service Desk at 423-431-6290.