Epiphany Healthcare Blog

Epiphany is excited to announce that July 2019 marks our 15th year of business. As we celebrate our company’s success this year, we would like to take a look back and share some words from our founders about how we got here.

“Fishing on Russ’ dock,” recalled Jim Stanczak (Epiphany’s Executive Vice President and General Counsel) when asked if he could share the story of Epiphany’s humble beginning. “It all started on the dock January 1, 2004. Me with a notebook and pen and Russ (Epiphany’s President and CEO) brainstorming. It was a nice day of fishing, it was a nice day to start a business. He and I discussed the requests we received from around the world for a multi-vendor, multi-modality management system and put them on paper. We were in business by July. I asked, ‘What do you want to call it?’ Russ responded, ‘Epiphany.’”

Russ added some commentary on his motivation to start a new company. “I have always worked for smaller companies. After a small company I worked for was purchased by a global medical company, my ability to quickly resolve customer issues and enhancement requests went away. New development moved at a very slow pace. I knew our idea for Epiphany was too good to pass up."

“We formed a highly specialized team with a shared vision to provide a multi-vendor, multi-modality ECG management system. The team was comprised of engineers with over 30 years of experience in the medical device industry and clinical professionals who witnessed firsthand the daily workflow challenges clinical staff faced.”

Once a company of just a handful of talented and dedicated individuals with a plan and a passion, Epiphany now has 70 employees across the nation and abroad with its headquarters in Midlothian, VA and service and support center located in Durham, NC. Epiphany’s Cardio Server is the fastest growing ECG management system in the country with over 950 hospitals using our product worldwide. We are proud to have hospital customers all over the US, as well as in Canada, South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, Malaysia, the Netherlands, the UK, Italy, and Switzerland.

Cardio Server was built with clinical customer requirements and hospital department workflow improvements in mind. As we celebrate our 15th year of business and the journey that has led to our success today, we thank our customers who have made our vision and our progress possible.

About Epiphany Healthcare: 
Epiphany Healthcare simplifies diverse clinical workflow using one consolidated EMR interface. Epiphany is committed to serving its customers’ needs through product innovation, the delivery of exceptional service, and an unwavering dedication to interoperability. Discover why Epiphany is the preferred provider when managing multi-vendor, multi-modality diagnostic test data. Contact us for more information.

Every hospital has a workflow with the goal to deliver the best patient care at appropriate cost.  Yet, did you know that 24.9% of tests are unnecessary partially due to difficulty accessing prior medical records?

Making a hospital’s workflow more efficient can improve the quality of patient care. Products such as Epiphany Healthcare's Cardio Server improve workflow processes.  Cardio Server is an ECG management system that connects test results directly with electronic medical records (EMRs), streamlines the reading of diagnostic studies, and ensures that previous results are always available.

Improve Your Clinical Workflow In Three Easy Steps

1. Identify Workflow Woes - Let Epiphany Analyze Your Workflow

Epiphany can look for ways to improve your current workflow.  Ask others who are a part of the workflow how they think it could improve.  Look for patterns in peoples’ answers to find holes in your process.  Follow different types of workflow users for parts of their day to see what their pain points are.  Then the following questions can be answered:

• What steps are removable?
• What steps are able to be automated?
• What do physicians find most frustrating? 
• How well do your software systems work with your EMR?
• Do your physicians have to log in to several software programs?
• What are the challenges of managing diagnostic test results?
• What challenges do different departments have regarding workflow?
• What parts of your current workflow are essential to keep?
• What is the average time spent with patients?
• What seems to be the overall satisfaction of the patients?

Start Your Workflow Analysis

2. Get Buy-In Early – Epiphany Can Help You Prepare for the Right Workflow Wins

Too often, key decision makers feel that technical changes are being imposed upon them.  Get the leading physicians and power users involved from the beginning.  Ask them what in the workflow can improve to save time in their day.  When you show physicians how you are trying to make these improvements happen; they will be supportive of the workflow changes.

When you put in place changes to end these daily problems, decision-makers will believe in the improvement method.  Physicians say they want it all, Epiphany can help you get it for them. 

Here is an example of how Epiphany Healthcare helped the physicians at Northeast Georgia Medical Center.

3. Implement Workflow Wins - Epiphany Can Create Strategies for Optimization

Now that you know the problem areas of your workflow and you have buy-in, let's find a solution for each pain points.  Here are ways that Epiphany Healthcare can turn your workflow woes into wins.

• Use one software program to manage all cardio-pulmonary tests from many hospitals and facilities. Here are Epiphany’s ten requirements for a multi-modality ECG management system. 
• Simplify your clinical workflow by working with your devices, EMRs, and unique challenges.
• Epiphany Healthcare’s Cardio Server integrates with all EMRs.
• Whether you are paper-based or are already using an ECG management program, Epiphany offers a migration path.
• Use a mobile platform that enables providers to access and edit ECG data from anywhere with iOS devices. With Cardio Server Mobile, information is secure, responsive, and easy to use. 
• Stop Revenue Loss by using graphical data and customized reports from Epiphany Analytica.
• Cloud services simplifies data management by reducing server requirements, storage, and IT costs. Save your hospital time and resources to focus on delivering the best patient care.
• Remove manual steps from your process with Rhythm Strip Management or Modality Worklist.

Your hospital's clinical workflow should run with the same finesse as an experienced surgeon.   It should run with software that helps keep your team's attention and focus on patient outcomes.  Deliver optimal patient care by letting Epiphany Healthcare turn your workflow woes into wins.

Sources:

https://www.epiphanyhealthdata.com/

https://www.imprivata.com/customer-success/best-practices/analyzing-clinical-workflows

https://www.modernhealthcare.com/article/20181103/NEWS/181039969/raising-the-stakes-it-s-getting-harder-to-be-a-top-tier-heart-hospital

https://www.imprivata.com/customer-success/best-practices/engage-care-providers

https://hbr.org/2016/11/4-steps-to-sustaining-improvement-in-health-care

https://getreferralmd.com/2016/08/30-healthcare-statistics-keep-hospital-executives-night/

 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5587107/

Imagine using one software program to manage all the different cardio-pulmonary diagnostic tests in your organization from multiple hospital facilities. Epiphany’s Cardio Server simplifies clinical workflow by working with your current devices, electronic medical records (EMRs), and unique challenges.

Are you thinking about implementing an enterprise-wide healthcare IT solution? Epiphany has helped many enterprise hospital systems consolidate multiple ECG management systems and migrate legacy ECG data into Cardio Server. For example, Hospital Sisters Health System is a multi-institutional health care system comprised of 13 hospitals in 12 communities that chose Epiphany for their Enterprise ECG Management System. Indeed, many IDNs use Cardio Server as their workflow solution.

Maximize Your ECG Management System

Cardio Server is scalable and flexible. It can manage multi-modality, multi-vendor integrations within your enterprise. It has comprehensive HL7 messaging. Cardio Server supports multiple EMRs from different sites integrated through one single solution.  Epiphany communicates with all major EMRs, including:

Easily Migrate To Cardio Server

For hospitals with an existing ECG management system, Epiphany can migrate your legacy data into Cardio Server.  Epiphany extracts ECGs from the source management system, processes the data, and then loads the processed ECGs into Cardio Server. After migration, you have full functionality on legacy data including serial comparison and calipers.

Beyond migration of legacy data, Cardio Server supports multiple time zones for enterprises that extend beyond a single region. It has flexible patient identification criteria for multi-sites lacking enterprise-wide, unique patient IDs. It can also be configured to link orders for inpatient procedures. Cardio Server can reside on your infrastructure and is compatible with your backup and virus protection plans. It is also completely nonproprietary when working with diagnostic devices.

Epiphany makes it easy to start using Cardio Server. When you pair that with Epiphany’s commitment to exceptional customer service, Cardio Server is an ideal enterprise solution for IDNs. Epiphany believes that interoperability in healthcare leads to better patient care.

Epiphany Healthcare created a way to use the clinical data from Cardio Server to give hospitals the advantage of improving their workflow and saving money with its new Epiphany Analytica™.  Analytica™ is a graphical, data-analysis tool that allows hospitals to identify trends and determine how departments and staff are performing.  With Analytica™, hospitals evaluate staffing requirements, workload distribution, and potential training needs by comparing metrics over time.  Analytica™ allows hospitals to identify the cause of delayed billing and stop revenue loss.

Pat White, Product Manager at Epiphany Healthcare, had this to say about Analytica™, "Analytica™ gives the customer quantifiable data to identify strengths, weaknesses, and opportunities for workflow and billing improvements.  By objectively measuring data, management can create a strategy to improve performance and eliminate lost revenue.  Analytica™ establishes a baseline and then identifies trends with subsequent, scheduled reporting.”

Epiphany Analytica™ shows the average time an ECG waits for an order, shows if the order was auto-reconciled, and shows the time taken to confirm the study.  Data can be broken down by site, technician, and reading physician.  Reports are scheduled to run as often as needed, per the hospital’s specific requirements, and then delivered automatically by fax, email link, file drop, or printing. 

A hospital that recently enhanced their Cardio Server with Epiphany Analytica™ described it this way; “It makes operational tasks, administrative tasks, and follow-up much easier for the end user by having the data represented in a graphical easy to understand format.”

*Epiphany Analytica™ is a product-enhancement of Epiphany’s Cardio Server.

At Epiphany Healthcare our goal is to provide technology that doctors can use to help them deliver the best patient care. Epiphany Healthcare’s Cardio Server has so many beneficial features. We don’t want our customers to miss using any of them. This is why Epiphany Healthcare has created its new Learning Center. This new online Learning Center has a modern design and easy navigation; it was built with healthcare professionals in mind. The Epiphany Learning Center is:

Conveniently Self-Paced

Epiphany Healthcare created an optimized online training tool for today’s busy medical professional. Learning should be convenient for the fast-paced environment of today’s hospitals and clinics. Epiphany Learning Center students learn at their own pace, in their own time, with guided start and stop videos, and downloadable documents.

Exceptionally Knowledgeable

Epiphany Healthcare wants its customers to succeed in getting the most out of Cardio Server. Epiphany Healthcare’s new Learning Center provides the knowledge that will give doctors power to utilize all the features of Cardio Server. Whether a new user or a seasoned user, who wants to learn more tips and stay current with Cardio Server upgrades, Epiphany's Learning Center will provide the knowledge you need to take full advantage of the software.

Overall Effective

The Learning Center was designed to create a profound learning experience. Each learner has their own custom page with courses that apply directly to them. Here are five reasons why online learning can be more effective than enrolling in a face-to-face training course.

Along with customized courses, the homepage of the Learning Center provides access to Epiphany Healthcare's blog, information on upgrades, and easy access to Epiphany’s renowned customer service.

Have questions about the new Learning Center?

From the desk of the President:

Most hospitals consider ECG management systems to be mission critical. If your system is running on a Microsoft Server 2008 operating system, that operating system will be at the end of life (EOL) on 14 January 2020. What happens when a Microsoft operating system goes end of life?

• Microsoft will not provide patches or updates
• There will be no technical assistance available
• Newly identified vulnerabilities will not be addressed
• Microsoft will not offer any types of support for EOL systems

Possibly worse than the problems outlined above, after an operating system goes EOL, those systems are often targeted and exploited by cyberattacks. Anyone facing this EOL should begin planning the upgrade of their ECG management system.

A few warnings from the internet regarding EOL software:

Can I still use my current system?

Yes, you will be able to continue using your computer with Windows 7 or Server 2008, but they will have a major security vulnerability and may not meet required standards for governing entities like HIPAA, FINRA, etc.  
Read more >

Depending on the circumstances, one recommendation is to move the on-premise Microsoft SQL 2008 and Microsoft Windows Server 2008 workloads into the Microsoft Azure cloud.  Read more >

Note: Epiphany Cloud Services offers ECG Management in the Microsoft Azure cloud. 

I write this message to strongly encourage you to begin planning an upgrade as soon as possible. Please share this communication with people in your organization who can accelerate a system upgrade. 

Russ DeRemer
President & CEO, Epiphany Healthcare

Reduce Your Risk of Heart Disease

When you think of red hearts this month, please don’t think only of Valentine’s Day. Please think of a healthy heart life for America, and a healthy heart life for you. February has been named American Heart Month for a good reason. The reason is because heart disease is the leading cause in American deaths. Here’s some knowledge to give you the power to reduce your risk.

WHAT

Heart disease, also known as cardiovascular disease, is generally known as blocked blood vessels that can lead to a heart attack or stroke. However, other heart conditions that hurt your heart’s muscles, rhythm, or other functions are also considered a form of heart disease. There are many heart disease symptoms.

WHO

Now that you know what it is, it’s important to know the heart disease facts, and who is at risk.

• Heart disease in the United States represents 1 in every 4 deaths.
• It is the number one cause of death in both men and women.
• 1 in 3 deaths in women are from cardiovascular disease and stroke.
• Heart disease and the conditions that lead to it can happen at any age.

Who is at risk? Everyone. Everyone is at risk, however some people have a much higher risk of having heart disease than others.

WHY

There are many conditions and lifestyle behaviors that can increase your risk of heart disease. Half of all Americans have at least one of the top three risk factors for heart disease (high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and smoking). Knowing which risk factors apply to you and if you can do something to lower your risk is the first step in prevention. Other conditions and lifestyle choices that can put you at a higher risk for heart disease include:

• Diabetes
• Overweight and obesity
• Poor diet
• Physically inactive
• Excessive alcohol use
• Genetics

REDUCE YOUR RISK

Understanding heart disease and knowing which risk factors pertain to you are two integral steps towards cardiovascular health, but they are useless if they don’t lead you to action. Taking appropriate action against any of the risk factors above can reduce your risk of heart disease or even reverse damage to the heart. Even in cases where the factors are beyond your control, like those concerning age, gender, and heredity, taking any of the following actions can help minimize your risk.

• Quit Smoking: The Surgeon General has called smoking "the leading preventable cause of disease and deaths in the United States." Quit now and start decreasing your risk of heart disease immediately.
• Maintain a Healthy Weight: Don’t just lose weight, keep it off and greatly reduce your risk of heart disease.
• Exercise on a Regular Basis: 20 to 60 minutes per day regularly, three to five times per week.
• Eat Healthy: Lean meats, low-fat dairy products, and foods that are low in cholesterol, added salts, fats or sugars.

Epiphany Healthcare wants you to be heart healthy. Begin your life-long path to cardiovascular health by utilizing the tips above. Help someone else by sharing these tips with your friends and family.

Congratulations! You’ve realized that implementing a Healthcare IT software program such as Cardio Server will help your organization become more efficient, save money, and eliminate manual steps, thus saving time. You’ve done a lot of research to get to this point. However, now you’ve reached a new challenge, which is getting your department and supervisors to agree that implementing this particular software, in fact, is the right decision for your organization. Below are a few recommendations that can help you with the next steps.

1. Leverage testimonials and reference accounts

If you know of another hospital that has been successful with the software you’re recommending, promote their success story to your team. If you need a reference account to contact for more specific feedback regarding their opinions on Cardio Server, just ask an Epiphany Representative and we can provide references that had similar requirements.

2. Get buy-in from your physicians

If you’re making a recommendation that your physicians adopt a new software program, it’s a good idea to make sure they’re on board, or better yet excited, to use the application. Epiphany’s Physician Overview Video is a helpful tool because it’s a tour of our software from their perspective. They can also sign up for a live webinar, customized for a physician’s workflow needs.

3. Put your vendor team to work

Epiphany representatives have the tools needed to provide you with a free workflow analysis to help you position our software to your departments. The end product of this discussion is a visual overview of what manual steps our software eliminates, an estimate of potential cost-savings, and labor costs that can be reduced. Seeing the results is an eye-opener for decision-makers, as it helps determine overall ROI.

4. Reduce uncertainty

Once you make a decision on an application, let your team know what will happen next. Feel free to schedule a consultation with our Implementations Director to talk about the Epiphany process going forward. Having all of these details up front will drastically help your team and supervisors to get the big picture before a final decision is made.

We want to empower you to improve patient care at your organization, and often improving the technology behind your daily workflow is a giant step in the right direction. Consider the steps above to help get your team and/or supervisors on board. Your Epiphany team is here to help you make an informed decision that you’re happy with.

Epiphany has been heavily vested in cloud computing for many years. Research and development, customer support, HR, payroll, employee benefits, document control, and our Quality System all reside in the cloud. Most businesses, outside of medicine, routinely maintain the majority of their infrastructure in the Cloud.

From Help Net Security, 07.16.2018: “86% of enterprises have adopted a multi-cloud strategy.”

Epiphany is confident that the time has come to take advantage of the cloud to manage your ECG and other clinical data.

Recent articles discussing hospitals moving to the cloud include:

• Cloud Decision Center, 07.26.2018: Exploring the Strategic Benefits of Moving to the Cloud

• HIMSS Learning Center, 08.14.2018: Leveraging Cloud to Revolutionize Health IT…

• HIMSS Learning Center, 06.21.2018: HIPAA Cloud Services: Run Healthcare Workloads in the Oracle Cloud

• Cloud Decision Center, 06.14.2018: EHRs in the Cloud: why smaller healthcare providers are making the leap

• HIMSS Learning Center, 04.28.2018: Enabling Innovation in Healthcare Through Technology…

• Cloud Decision Center, 04.10.2018: Healthcare specialties find efficiencies and more in the Cloud

The cloud allows us to think about a new way to solve version-control issues. Instead of waiting for major upgrades, we will frequently patch systems with smaller security and feature updates. With the hospital’s agreement, Epiphany will commit to maintaining all of our interfaces and exports without modifications. Each patch will include documentation on the improvements. This commitment will allow hospitals to keep their system current without expensive upgrade projects.

Take advantage of the following financial benefits by moving to Epiphany Cloud Services:

• Operating budget vs. capital budget

• Reduced implementation and start-up costs

• Lower five-year lifecycle costs

Reduce your IT footprint and its responsibilities by moving the following to the cloud:

• Single-tenancy servers and data storage

• High-availability virtual environment to minimize down time

• Epiphany production and test environments

• Secure business-to-business encrypted virtual private network (VPN)

• Cyber security, malware, and virus protection

• Third-party operating systems, patches, and upgrades

• Backup and disaster recovery

Additional significant value-added capabilities from Epiphany Cloud Services:

• Cardio Server Mobile included

• Proactive system monitoring to catch failures before they happen

• Frequent Epiphany software and security updates and patches

• Annual backup and disaster recovery technology testing

• Annual software version penetration testing