Faculty and fellows from the DBMI Clinical Informatics Fellowship took key roles and gained hands-on experience in the introduction of EPIC to UAMS’ statewide network of Regional Campuses.
As a result, more than 65,000 patients across the state now have better access to seamless care. Epic has been used in central Arkansas at the UAMS Medical Center and UAMS clinics for about eight years. With the expansion to UAMS Regional Campuses in communities like Magnolia, Texarkana, Fort Smith, Fayetteville Helena, Jonesboro, Pine Bluff and Batesville, Arkansans now enjoy a uniform electronic health records (EHR) experience within the UAMS Health system no matter where their health care journey takes them.
“It is important for our care providers not only to be well versed in the health care sciences, but also to be adept users of modern clinical technology such as electronic medical records. This assures that our patients get the best outcomes,” said David A. Nelsen, Jr., M.D., project lead and UAMS associate chief clinical information officer.
Dr. Nelsen directs the DBMI Clinical Informatics Fellowship’s Implementation & Change Control of EHRs rotation.
CI Fellow Lori Wong, M.D., worked closely with Dr. Nelsen on the rotation and this project. Additionally, she is embedded in the UAMS Institute for Digital Health & Innovation, where she has hands-on operational duties. IDHI was integral to this project and provides ongoing EHR support for UAMS Health’s statewide network. In part, Dr. Wong traveled to Batesville and Texarkana to provide technical assistance during the EPIC conversion.
“The CI Fellowship is very much an ‘applied’ program. Even in my first semester, I was already doing the day-to-day work of a clinical informaticist,” Wong said. “This project was a unique opportunity because of its sheer size and scope. Projects this big don’t come along every day, and I’m glad I was able to take part.”