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The access team’s work to improve Epic allows schedulers to automate certain criteria: visit type, patient type, appointment length. The team also works with individual providers to create a smoother schedule that allows for downtime. Recently, they worked with a new OB/GYN provider who complained of an erratic schedule: some days were spotty, while others were overwhelming.“ On a good day, she had three return OB patients, whereas on a bad day, she had five new GYN patients all scheduled back to back,” Weiszbrod says. The team programmed a limit of new vs. return patients that allowed the provider to grow her patient volume while spending the time she needed with each patient.

Reducing clinician burnout was what Director Kim Pacheco had in mind when she built the access optimization team. “When we meet face-to-face with a provider to talk about templates, we’re on their side,” Pacheco says. “If their template ends at 5:00 PM, we wonder how we can get them home so they can have a life outside of work. Once the provider understands the back-end functionality of Epic, it sparks creativity for new ideas, too: ‘What about this group of patients? Is there a way we can make their experience better?’”

Before the team worked to improve templates, Ambulatory Access Specialist Amy Barrus says the most common remark they heard was, “Don’t touch my template!” Now, providers understand the benefits of a team to support. Barrus tells providers, “Don’t try to build the system functionality yourself—let us build it for you. We can improve your schedule so that you can achieve your goals.”