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….

In 2020, Ballad Health successfully implemented Epic Phase 1 by installing Epic as Ballad Health’s electronic medical record system (EMR). This implementation connects our patients’ hospital and clinic medical records on one platform. Epic Phase 2 is underway and impacts these areas: Three long-term care facilities All six of our retail pharmacies Home Health and Hospice Inpatient and outpatient rehabilitation services Epic Phase 2 End-User training begins June 13 marks the first day of scheduled, in-person training for all team members affected by the Epic Phase 2 rollout. These classes will continue through July 22, the week before go-live. Your manager should have already shared your class schedule with you, but you can also find your schedule in HealthStream along with the name of your classes and the address for your training location. Additionally, you will receive an email reminder two days before each of your classes.You can click here to see a location guide…

Beginning on Monday, June 6, any emails older than 90 days will be automatically deleted from Outlook; this is a change from our previous Ballad Health policy of 180 days. So if you have any emails you want to save that are at least three months old, make sure before Monday that you save them to somewhere outside of your Outlook account so they will not be deleted. Please be proactive in saving important emails before they reach their expiration date, knowing that the 90-day period updates every day. See the tip sheet posted below for how to safely save emails. This change for our Outlook email retention is one of several Ballad Health cybersecurity policies we’ve updated recently as we work to keep our patients and team members as safe as possible from cybersecurity risks. Make sure you are aware of these updates and are prepared. For reference, here’s a review of our updated…

We recently announced upcoming changes to our Ballad Health cybersecurity policies as we work to keep our patients and team members as safe as possible from cybersecurity risks. Make sure you are aware of these updates and are prepared. One of the key updates is a change in how long Outlook emails will remain in your inbox or Outlook folders before being automatically purged. Beginning on Monday, June 6, any emails older than 90 days will be automatically deleted from Outlook; this is a change from our previous policy of 180 days. So before June 6, if you have any emails you want to save that are at least three months old, make sure you save them to somewhere outside of your Outlook account so they will not be deleted. Be proactive in saving important emails before they reach their expiration date, knowing that the 90-day period updates every day. Here’s a look at our…

As part of our systemwide transition to Microsoft Teams, Ballad Health will sunset Microsoft Skype, effective on Tuesday, May 31. We rolled out Microsoft Teams on March 29 in an effort to make systemwide communication easier and more efficient. We encourage all team members to begin using Teams to become familiar with its robust features and functionalities, if they have not done so already. For any questions regarding Microsoft Teams, please review the information found below or contact the IT Service Desk at 423-431-6290.  Microsoft Teams has been rolled out; here’s what you need to do next – Ballad Health News  Systemwide rollout of Microsoft Teams set for March 29 – Ballad Health News  Microsoft Teams FAQs – Ballad Health News  Pages – Microsoft Teams Resources Web version available for Microsoft Teams 

Effective Tuesday, May 31, Ballad Health will make a minor change in the login process for ServiceNow in order to create a more secure login. ServiceNow is where team members go on the Ballad Health intranet to make an IT service request or report an incident. Key facts facts about the change The login screen for ServiceNow will have a new look (see image). When logging into the ServiceNow portal, team members will use their balladhealth.org email address instead of their Ballad Health AD account name (the “u number”). Team members without a “u number” will need to call the service desk and will be unable to self-serve until migrated to a “u number.” When accessing from the intranet via a Ballad Health network device, you will only have to type in your password and “u number” the first time you log in, and it will be automatically saved after that. When accessing from outside…

To keep our patients and team members as safe as possible from cybersecurity risks, Ballad Health regularly evaluates our systems, processes and workflows to ensure we’re taking every precaution possible. Following a recent review of some of our policies, we are making several updates.  Email Retention and Mailbox Management Effective June 6, emails older than 90 days, instead of 180 days, will be removed from Outlook. This will apply to any folders team members have created within the email system. Emails that need to be preserved must be relocated. Personal email addresses will no longer be added to the Ballad Health Global Address List (GAL). Electronic Mail Communication Ballad Health email should not be used for personal use. Your Ballad Health passwords cannot be the same or similar to passwords for any of your personal accounts. Computer Access Codes Password length should be at least eight characters, but the use of passphrases with spaces separating…

Due to increased cyberattacks, Ballad Health is initiating a suspension of all external access to Outlook Web Access (OWA) from any device that is not a Ballad Health-issued device, effective on Tuesday, April 26, at 5 p.m. If you access OWA from a non-Ballad Health network, you will no longer be able to view Ballad Health email after that time. This change will impact team members who log onto their email through Balladhealth.org, our external website, from the “Doctors & Team Members” page. (See image below). Team members will continue to be able to access OWA by using a Ballad Health-issued device to access Ballad Health email. Click here to view the Ballad Health IT Advisory that was sent systemwide. NOTE: Access to OWA from a Ballad Health-issued device will NOT be affected. If you have additional questions regarding this service update, please contact the Service Desk at 423-431-6290.