MIGRATING FROM ECLIPSYS E7000 TO SUNRISE CLINICAL MANAGER™: AVOIDING COMMON PITFALLS
By Judy Jarrett
So you selected Eclipsys SunriseClinical Manager™ (SCM) system at a healthcare enterprise
and sunset E7000. Whether this decision was brought on by the Institute of Medicine’s (IOM)
call for a safer health system for the twenty first century, the President’s mandate for a
total electronic record, or the JCAHO National Patient Safety Goals, this decision marks a
significant change for any organization. Avoiding some of the common pitfalls to avoid as
the challenge of migrating to SCM is undertaken is advised.
First and foremost avoid trying to replicate in SCM what is currently in E7000 without
performing a thorough analysis. The E7000 system is extremely customizable. IT has likely
developed numerous enhancements over the years to accommodate a myriad of policies and
procedures and specialty workflow. And as a result of this investment, the E7000 system may
be widely accepted by users across the facility or enterprise. Although, the business
decision to implement SCM is sound, there may be considerable resistance, not only from the
existing IT team, but also from the users. In spite of this resistance, avoid the temptation
to build SCM in the image of E7000.
Revisit the Need for Existing E7000 Reports
The E7000 system has numerous reports and printouts, and an infinite capacity for creating
custom reports. There may be a custom report to remind a clinician that follow-up is missing
for a medication given PRN, or which orders need to be renewed. There may also be, in use,
system reports (New Medical Order printouts) to alert a department that an order has been
entered or adjusted. Perhaps it is policy to file the Daily or Current Order Summaries in
the patient’s paper chart. While SCM can accommodate an unlimited number of reports, making
a decision to recreate all existing reports in E7000 without re-visiting the need could
negate the SCM functionality that brought on this business decision.
SCM Provides Alerts and Reminders in Real Time - So Less Need for Paper Reminders
E7000 provided organizations with an incredible ROI and had some built in safety mechanisms
that were clearly ahead of its time, however the alerts and reminders were largely paper.
SCM is more supportive of an electronic record than to an adjunct to the paper chart. The
care provider has current and historical data available at their finger tips, and filters
the data in the way that they need to see it in real time. Having this information available
for the care provider, along with clinical decision support, and mechanisms to provide
alerts and warnings at the point of care may prevent errors from occurring or minimally
reduce the need for paper reminders.
The E7000 Team’s Participation is Invaluable in the Analysis and Planning Phase
Another pitfall that is equally as damaging as trying to retrofit SCM into E7000 is to
assemble an SCM design team separate and apart from your E7000 team. The E7000 team has a
wealth of information and experience to tap in to. They have analyzed workflow for every
active department and created tools to accommodate their needs. It may be that the functions
in place now carry over to the new system with only minor changes. Ask to see the grid of
user types with their assigned functions that was used to build the screens and pathways in
E7000. This grid, if still available, is an excellent tool to use as a starting point for
current workflow analysis and the assignment of security rights for the features/functions
in SCM.
If possible, ask at least one E7000 analysts to join the SCM design team. Their
participation will be invaluable especially during the analysis and planning phase of the
project. If this is not possible, make provisions for regular communication between each
team throughout the scope of the project so as not to perpetually reinvent the wheel.
Involve the Users at the Kick-Off and Explain Direct Benefits
The final pitfall is failing to involve the users from the onset of the project and failure
to properly prepare them for the fact that the new system will transform the way each and
every user views and enters patient data. Most clinicians will embrace the clinical decision
support embedded in the SCM system, and physicians performing order entry (CPOE), if they
are made aware of the reason for this decision. In preparation for this change, let users
know what the direct benefits to them will be. Explain how the change is going to improve
their workflow by reducing redundancies and duplication of effort.
Give the Users More Than They Already Have
Implementation of SCM functionality is dependent on many things. Usually the ADT system
drives the decision. However, if the decision is made to phase in the functionality of SCM
due to your timeline and resources, be sure to give the user’s something more than they
already have. Just a little more automation and improved efficiency goes a long way toward
user acceptance.
The Eclipsys Practice has continued to grow over the year and has added four additional
consultants this quarter. We continue to recruit solid proven consultants such as Barb
Clark, Melani Ruiz-Pyland Natalya Novojilov and Angela Hardnick to our team and have ended
the year with 36 consultants in the practice. As we look into the new year the Eclipsys
Practice will continue to grow with the tides of Eclipsys and focus our efforts around
helping customers with their implementations and upgrades around 4.5 and 5.0. The VCS
Eclipsys practice will also be considered an integral partner with Eclipsys as we continue
to provide support to their staff in the time of need. The increased growth of the practice
has allowed the VCS Eclipsys practice to cover several areas of expertise. Not only can the
practice bring a strong talented consultant base to your implementation around Order and
Results build, Clinical Documentation, Chrystal and MS Reporting and MLM's we can also
provide leadership, strong SMM experience, Project Management, Ambulatory, CPOE and Clinical
Workflow expertise with a proven methodology which is simple and easy to understand. I
look forward to working with all of you in 2008 on your SCM implementations.