Open Forum

Good morning,

My organization is looking to streamline the process of responding to patient messages in Epic. Do any of you use dot phrases to respond to non-symptomatic patient messages in Epic? If so, have you run into any legal liability with this process? Have you found this to be a patient and or staff satisfier? Any thoughts would be appreciated.

Thank you,

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Tomika Green MSN RN AMB-BC
Nurse Clinician
VCU Medical Center
Henrico VA
(804)647-0199
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Hi Tomika, 

Can you provide an example? I'm always worried that we lose individualized care when we create automated messaging. 

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Susanna Gadsby MSN, MBA, AMB-BC, NPD-BC
Clinical Educator, Ambulatory
AAACN Certified
Nursing Professional Development Specialist
susanna.m.gadsby@hitchcock.org
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Good morning,

Here is an example below. I agree on this having the potential for us to lose individualized care. Especially, when patients may need to actually speak to a clinical team member. 

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Tomika Green MSN RN AMB-BC
Nurse Clinician
VCU Medical Center
Henrico VA
(804)647-0199
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Original Message:
Sent: 04-17-2024 08:17
From: Susanna Gadsby
Subject: Dot phrases for Epic Inbox Messages

Hi Tomika, 

Can you provide an example? I'm always worried that we lose individualized care when we create automated messaging. 

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Susanna Gadsby MSN, MBA, AMB-BC, NPD-BC
Clinical Educator, Ambulatory
AAACN Certified
Nursing Professional Development Specialist
susanna.m.gadsby@hitchcock.org
------------------------------

Good Morning Tomika,

We are also struggling with the influx of patient messages.  We are in the process of reviewing our current workflows and developing an algorithm to ensure the message gets to the appropriate person, instead of passed along directly to the clinician. This includes a dot phrase for staff to ensure all information needed is gathered with the first patient contact.  If you haven't joined AMA Stepps Forward, (free) I would recommend you taking a look at all the information they have, which includes a list of smart phrases and responses.  We are also looking at auto-responses that can be generated by Epic, such as notification when an RX has been sent to the pharmacy.  I am happy to set up a Teams meeting and share with you the work we are doing.

Trish

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Tricia Frazier RN MHA
Regional Practice Director
Carilion Clinic
Christiansburg VA
540-731-2449
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Good morning Tricia,

Thank you so much for the information. I will definitely take a look at the AMA Stepps Forward. A Teams Meeting would be great. I think my team hearing what others are doing will also help us to see how to move forward. 

Tomika

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Tomika Green MSN RN AMB-BC
Nurse Clinician
VCU Medical Center
Henrico VA
(804)647-0199
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Original Message:
Sent: 04-17-2024 10:44
From: Tricia Frazier
Subject: Dot phrases for Epic Inbox Messages

Good Morning Tomika,

We are also struggling with the influx of patient messages.  We are in the process of reviewing our current workflows and developing an algorithm to ensure the message gets to the appropriate person, instead of passed along directly to the clinician. This includes a dot phrase for staff to ensure all information needed is gathered with the first patient contact.  If you haven't joined AMA Stepps Forward, (free) I would recommend you taking a look at all the information they have, which includes a list of smart phrases and responses.  We are also looking at auto-responses that can be generated by Epic, such as notification when an RX has been sent to the pharmacy.  I am happy to set up a Teams meeting and share with you the work we are doing.

Trish

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Tricia Frazier RN MHA
Regional Practice Director
Carilion Clinic
Christiansburg VA
540-731-2449
------------------------------