Workflow Walkthrough – showcasing the first major event of encompass
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April 3, 2023
Health and Social Care Staff across Northern Ireland got their first glimpse of encompass via the virtual Workflow Walkthrough process on 7 – 9 September 2021.
Over 5000 attendees experienced integrated demos presented by Epic who have been contracted to partner with encompass and HSCNI to develop the new digital care record for Northern Ireland.
It showcased various workflows and functions HSC staff might use to support a patient as they travel through the system, from requesting an initial appointment, after-care following surgery, to discharge into the community with follow up health and social care and many points in between, as well as the functionality of how patients will be empowered to manage their own care journey.
Using the information learned in these sessions, workgroups will now discuss how the encompass information system will be adapted and developed to suit the requirements of health and social care in Northern Ireland.
This work will transform how HSC staff communicate and share information among teams, with patients, clients, service users and families.
Kevin Conway, Senior Executive support for Senior Responsible Owner and programme team explained: “This is an exciting time for the encompass programme. The idea behind Workflow Walkthrough was to showcase the Epic tools and workflows that will soon become part of our practices. It gave our clinical and operational leaders a chance to see the tools and ask ourselves “how can I use these in my practice to ensure the best possible quality of care for our patients?”
Workflow Walkthrough is a kick-off to the design and build phase of the encompass programme. We’re excited to begin getting input from the trusts as we collaborate to understand how the system will work at HSC.
Hilary McFaul, Professional Lead Speech and Language Therapist, SHSCT who walked through workflow changes at the Child Health Breakout said:
I like the use of a pre appointment questionnaire which families can complete prior to appointments. This will help us focus our sessions on what matters to families. I’m looking forward to being involved in the design groups.
Dr James Nelson, Child and Adolescent Psychiatrist and Chief Clinical Information Officer, NHSCT who walked through workflow changes at the Population Health breakout said:
You can see at a glance which of your diabetic patients haven’t had eye screening done recently! With a few clicks clinicians can send a message to all these patients. It will be transformative for how we provide and improve care for our population.
The recorded WFWT online sessions and the Questions and Answers feedback will be available at a later date.
What’s happening next?
System Configuration (October 2021-April 2022)
System configuration kicks off on 4 October. We have over 65 decision groups with representation from across HSCNI who will be learning more about the details of Epic and participating in decisions about how the system will work at HSCNI. These decisions will direct the build team as they configure Epic and the training team as they begin to develop curriculum specific to staff needs.
We didn’t anticipate the slow of COVID, but the pace of encompass is accelerating and at a fast pace. Planning and pre-work is largely complete. It’s exciting to have operations and clinicians involved. The work needed to ensure Health and Social Care meets the needs of our citizens in coming years has officially started.
Page last updated: 3 April 2023