As we ramp up our defense against cyberattacks – which often come in the form of phishing attacks via fake emails – it’s important to remember some of the basic safety steps we can use to protect ourselves. Hovering your cursor One of the easiest and most effective methods to doublecheck any link within an email is by “hovering” your cursor over the link – WITHOUT clicking or tapping on the link – in order to see what web address displays. This way, you can see if it will take you to the website you thought it would, if you clicked on the link. If you have any doubts, do not click on the link! Remember, it’s not the email address you should hover over with the cursor – it is any suspicious link within the email. Also, always be wary of clicking on any attachment that comes with a suspicious email. Again, if you…

As a health system, we must have adequate levels of protection for the sensitive data we manage to protect both ourselves and the patients we care for. Cyberattacks not only disrupt healthcare providers, they also disrupt patient care. Hypothetically, if a Ballad Health provider was phished and had their credentials stolen, a hacker could potentially use that information to log into Epic and access patient information to sell on the black market. Even more dangerous, a hacker using those credentials could potentially change a patient’s medication or procedure or discharge the patient prematurely. According to a research study published in September 2021 by the Ponemon Institute, approximately 43% of the 600 healthcare IT professionals surveyed said they had experienced a ransomware attack within the last two years that disrupted the ability to care for patients. Of those who experienced a ransomware attack: 70% said the attack led to delays in procedures and tests, resulting in…

Are you using MyChart? We encourage all team members to take advantage of it for their own health, and for team members to encourage everyone else to use MyChart. It’s a great way to take an active role in managing your care. You can access MyChart through the Ballad Health app, which is our public-facing app. (Remember, you can also access the external Ballad Health app through Ballad Teams, our team member-only app.) When you download the Ballad Health app, you can do a range of things within MyChart to manage your care – all from your smartphone, laptop or tablet. MyChart connects patients with their care teams and allows safe, convenient and confidential online access to a range of information and services. It’s easy to access your health records 24/7, from home or wherever you are, using your smartphone, laptop or tablet. What can you do in MyChart? View test results Schedule appointments Check-in…

As a health system, one of the biggest threats we face right now is cyberattacks – a tool used by hackers to extort organizations like ours for money. A critical aspect of cyber safety is data protection, a set of procedures aimed at safeguarding personal data stored within a system. Because protected health information is among an individual’s most sensitive (and for criminals, valuable) private data, we must have strong measures in place for protecting our data against today’s threats. The risk of cybercriminals targeting Ballad Health is higher now than it has ever been. In fact, cyberattacks against healthcare organizations all over the world are increasing substantially in number and sophistication. Healthcare is now the number one sector for cyberattacks, experiencing more attempts and breaches than any other sector. Remember: All team members can take steps to help us fight cyberattacks and protect our data. Stay vigilant and safe from hackers   According to Health…

We’ve just completed our two-week Epic Phase 2 Go-Live, and it was a success! There were plenty of issues to solve, but with excellent teamwork among team members and our IT and operations teams — and the Epic team — our go-live has all departments in good shape going forward. At-the-elbow support will end today and the Command Center will close tonight, but IT will continue to field calls and provide support for all departments involved in the go-live. What is Epic Phase 2? We have implemented Epic as our electronic medical record (EMR) system for the following departments: Three long-term care facilities All six of our retail pharmacies Home Health and Hospice Inpatient and outpatient rehabilitation services This will bring everyone within the Ballad Health system onto Epic as our EMR system. Update from Week 2 (Aug. 8-12) Friday saw the conclusion of our official go-live, which began on Aug. 1. “This is an…

We’ve just completed the first week, Monday, Aug. 1, through Friday, Aug. 5, of our Epic Phase 2 Go-Live. Each day, we’ve provided a short summary of how things have progressed. What is Epic Phase 2? We are implementing Epic as our electronic medical record (EMR) system for the following departments: Three long-term care facilities All six of our retail pharmacies Home Health and Hospice Inpatient and outpatient rehabilitation services This will bring everyone within the Ballad Health system onto Epic as our EMR system. Friday, Aug. 5, update The first week of go-live is finished! Everything has continued to go smoothly, with issues being addressed and resolved rapidly. Thank you so much to all our team members for your patience and understanding so far during this transition, and thank you to all of our super users and support staff for keeping on top of everything so well this week. At-the-elbow support will continue through…

Our Epic Phase 2 Go-Live is under way, going from Monday, Aug. 1, through Friday, Aug. 5. Each day, we’ll provide a short summary of how things are progressing. What is Epic Phase 2? We are implementing Epic as our electronic medical record (EMR) system for the following departments: Three long-term care facilities All six of our retail pharmacies Home Health and Hospice Inpatient and outpatient rehabilitation services This will bring everyone within the Ballad Health system onto Epic as our EMR system. Thursday, Aug. 4, update On Day 4, the go-live has continued to go smoothly, with issues being addressed and resolved rapidly. Special congratulations to the Dorothy/Comfort teams for reaching 100% of visits closed on Epic within 48 hours! That is a great achievement. Below are some more comments on how the day went from team members and leaders involved in the project: “I like the medication reconciliation. It’s pretty much foolproof.” “My…

Our Epic Phase 2 Go-Live is under way, going from Monday, Aug. 1, through Friday, Aug. 5. Each day, we’ll provide a short summary of how things are progressing. What is Epic Phase 2? We are implementing Epic as our electronic medical record (EMR) system for the following departments: Three long-term care facilities All six of our retail pharmacies Home Health and Hospice Inpatient and outpatient rehabilitation services This will bring everyone within the Ballad Health system onto Epic as our EMR system. Wednesday, Aug. 3, update On Day 3, the go-live has continued to go smoothly, with issues being addressed and resolved rapidly. As technical issues are dealt with, processes are going more smoothly and new users are able to see the benefits and efficiencies of the new system. Cheryl Shelnutt, director of retail pharmacy ops, said, “The Ballad Health analysts have been fantastic – just rock stars. I greatly appreciate the support that…

Our Epic Phase 2 Go-Live is under way, going from Monday, Aug. 1, through Friday, Aug. 5. Each day, we’ll provide a short summary of how things are progressing. What is Epic Phase 2? We are implementing Epic as our electronic medical record (EMR) system for the following departments: Three long-term care facilities All six of our retail pharmacies Home Health and Hospice Inpatient and outpatient rehabilitation services This will bring everyone within the Ballad Health system onto Epic as our EMR system. Tuesday, Aug. 2, update On Day 2, things have continued to go well, building on a successful Day 1. Several of the key technical issues from Monday have been resolved. IT’s Steven Morton, director of IS operations, said, “We’ve been able to resolve issues quickly, and it’s just going great. I want to say thank you to all of our teams.” Below are some more comments on how the day went from…

Today is an exciting day! We just went live with Phase 2 of Epic this morning, which covers three long-term care facilities, all six of our retail pharmacies, Home Health and Hospice, and Inpatient and Outpatient Rehabilitation Services. As of today, all of these facilities are part of the greater Ballad Health Epic network. After an excellent Phase 1 implementation in 2020 that united all our hospitals and clinics on Epic, we are thrilled to bring even more facilities online. “We couldn’t have achieved this without a lot of work and dedication from all of you. I’m thankful for all the team members who got us to this day, and I’m excited to keep moving forward with Epic,” said Pam Austin, senior vice president and chief information officer, for Ballad Health. What are the benefits of Epic? Epic is a more intuitive, more connected system that streamlines care to patients and improves accessibility and safety….

Ballad Health is in the process of updating its Infor Lawson system. Team members currently use this system for accessing pay history and tax documents, viewing and enrolling in benefits, setting up direct deposit and more. Effective at the end of 2022 and start of 2023, we will transition to Infor CloudSuite, the latest software version, which will modernize, automate and streamline many of the functions we use today. This is an important initiative that will update and improve many of the internal systems our team members rely on every day. Who is affected, and when For now, only certain team members who work in the Infor Lawson system are involved in the transition, and the general team member population will not see any changes until we near the end of the year. Upon launch, the site will look different to all team members, with a more intuitive, easy-to-use interface and more tools at team…

IT will upgrade the software on Ballad Health’s network servers next week between 12:30 a.m. and 5 a.m. every night from June 20 through June 24. Regular upgrades to our network servers are required to provide the best performance and security possible. We expect all systems to be on the upgraded version of the network software with the latest security by 5 a.m. on June 24. Server software can be upgraded without any systems going offline, so we don’t expect there to be any interruption to workflows. However, this is an extensive, far-reaching upgrade, so we’re taking precautions to minimize any unexpected system downtime or disruptions. We encourage teams to post this flyer with the IT Service Desk number in an easily accessibly location during the upgrade period. Additionally, in preparation for any unplanned system downtime, teams should try to perform any key tasks that can be completed before the upgrade begins at 12:30 a.m….