10 Common Challenges Facing Epic IT Teams

CTG recently talked with some of our Epic clients to discover the biggest challenges facing their IT teams; and it’s clear many of these healthcare organizations share similar issues.

Limited resources, time, and bandwidth top the list of concerns, and while these types of difficulties can be tough to manage, CTG has been helping healthcare organizations successfully overcome these obstacles for years.

10 Common Challenges:

1. Limited resources

Staffing and budget constraints make it difficult to scale critical projects. Time and personnel limitations affect how managers approach workloads, especially when turnover is a challenge. Analysts want to work on critical projects, but they’re overloaded with repetitive tasks, such as reporting and end-user support.

2. The Need to do more with less 

Despite resource limitations, IT teams are constantly asked to do more with less. Requests are often complex and varied and range anywhere from training and retaining qualified analysts to executing strategic imperatives and navigating mergers and acquisitions.

3. Hiring Qualified Analysts

Experienced, qualified Epic analysts are hard to find, and there’s fierce competition for recruitment, especially when searching for unique skill sets such as Beaker. Lumens and Revenue Cycle. IT leaders have expressed difficulty and frustration in managing analysts and their highly specific workflows.

4. Retaining Talent

IT managers also cite struggling to keep certified analysts and trainers on the team. Large workloads and tedious tasks lower job satisfaction. Meanwhile, remote positions offer an appealing alternative. Qualified team members are lured away by higher-paying roles and more engaging responsibilities.

5. Volume of End-User Requests

Teams are buried in end-user requests for both build and training optimization. It’s a never-ending cycle compounded by daily tasks, strategic imperatives, and special projects. IT teams need help managing and resolving the issues for their end users.

6. No Time For Special Projects

Special projects are vitally needed. However, with so much energy spent on recurring tasks like reporting and user support—not to mention the staffing challenges—teams simply don’t have the time to focus on those crucial projects that can have a substantial impact on an organization’s bottom line.

7. No Bandwidth for Strategic Imperatives

Many Epic teams are already working at full capacity and are seeking ways to offload tasks from core team members so they can focus on new projects. Lack of bandwidth makes it hard to feel like progress is made toward bigger goals. Strategic imperatives like acquisitions and improved patient engagement can be a tipping point for some teams.

8. Mergers and Acquisitions are Added Pressures

Acquisitions and integration of new systems and vendors into the existing EHR system creates tremendous pressure. Epic teams need to implement workflows, eliminate redundancies, and manage technical issues throughout, but it’s a lot to manage in addition to the massive workload they already have.

9. Too many customizations

It’s challenging to sustain the countless customization requests that build up over time. Some teams are considering an Epic Refuel to get back to Foundation. However, that too will take even more time, effort and resources that organizations simply don’t have.

10. Keeping Patients Satisfied

Patient engagement and satisfaction are the backdrops for all of these challenges because dissatisfied patients won’t hesitate to change providers. That’s why analysts must maintain quality support for offerings such as MyChart patient portal and telehealth. But many Epic teams find that boosting engagement and maintaining high patient satisfaction rates is difficult with so many obstacles in their way.

CTG’s Epic Stewardship Solutions

Despite these common challenges for Epic IT teams, every situation is unique. That’s why our suite of Epic Stewardship Solutions can be customized to meet your organization’s specific needs.

Reducing Resource Shortages

CTG’s workforce management solutions have been around for a long time, and so have our team members. They often stay with us for many years, some for more than a decade. That’s because CTG invests in both the career and personal growth of our teammates by providing professional education and development opportunities. The results—a proven track record of successful implementation, activation and managed services for more than three decades.

Enlisting our experienced team to manage repetitive tasks such as end-user support and reporting lets your analysts focus on more strategic and rewarding projects. This can increase their job satisfaction and lower turnover rates.

Get Personalized Support

CTG delivers personalized support for project management so you can focus on your team and their progress toward strategic goals.

We provide a MyChart service desk for patients and specialized solutions for your analytics and reporting. Our Epic service desk and application support also help you manage any end-user requests.

Manage Business Solutions

CTG helps manage special projects like Community Connect, the cost-effective program that allows organizations to join an existing Epic instance. We help negotiate workflows with partner organizations to meet your organizational needs and your patients’. Our integration systems and workflows also help onboard new providers and vendors.

We help you progress toward your digital transformation goals, including cloud management. No matter where you are in the process, we have the experience, knowledge, and tools to facilitate your transformation.

CTG’s Epic Stewardship Solutions provide the management, support, and expertise to help you create results that make a difference. Overcome the challenges that hold you back so you can reach your overarching goals without sacrificing day-to-day work or team satisfaction.

Contact CTG today to learn how our Epic Stewardship Solutions can increase capacity while reducing frustrations.

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