XGM 2019: Epic Experts Expand and Share Their Knowledge in Verona

Epic’s Expert Group Meeting continues to grow with over 9,300 attendees this year—the largest turnout yet.

With nearly 900 sessions to choose from, attendees learned how their peers have found success with Epic and shared their own experiences with the software. Organizations presented on a variety of topics, showcasing innovative workflows in Epic to increase patient satisfaction, improve physician happiness, reduce costs, and achieve better overall outcomes.

For example, North Oaks Health System showed how they used Epic’s Deterioration Index predictive model to decrease the number of codes outside the ICU by 40%, and University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center discussed how they used provider efficiency tools in Epic at their Breast Cancer Center to increase overall provider satisfaction by almost 50%.

When not in a session, attendees continued their learning with Enhancement Labs, Meet the Experts booths, and nearly 3,500 usability test runs.

This year’s theme of retro video games provided a touch of whimsy to the advisory councils and learning sessions, such as “Blast Off to Better Metrics: Custom Tools to Close Care Gaps, Improve Quality” and “Level Up: Specialty-Focused Provider Efficiency Sprints.” After a day of learning, attendees unwound at the Xtra Hour networking event, which included retro game stations and themed snacks while collaborating with peers they met earlier in the week.

This year’s peer-nominated PACademy Award, which recognizes physicians who have made outstanding contributions to the Epic community, was Dr. Dan Lemkin of University of Maryland Medical System. Dr. Lemkin is a physician coder skilled at developing custom reports and helping fellow physician builders, informaticists, and others in the Epic community.

Epic community members can revisit archived sessions from XGM 2019 on the UserWeb.

Photo: Epic physician Chris Alban presents Dr. Dan Lemkin with the 2019 PACademy Award.