"I guess today marks the first day of the rest of my life.
I woke up at 6:27, three minutes before my alarm went off. I lay in bed for several minutes, before realizing that I was already falling behind schedule. Got up, showered, shaved, got all dressed up, and off I went. To Harvard square on the red line, and then to Mt. Auburn Hospital on foot.
I think it hit me when I walked into the hospital. The smell of hospital filled my nose- antiseptic, disinfectant. I've spent a decent amount of time in hospitals, luckily almost all as a volunteer not a patient, "
I wrote this a month ago today, on my first day at Mt. Auburn. The past month has been so hectic that I haven't even completed this post, but I think the one month mark is symbolic and thus works well as a check-in point.
So let me pick up where I left off, with a major correction. I am not really working in a hospital. I have a non-clinical job. In fact, my office is not at the hospital but in fact at a leased out space around a mile away.
I'm an Epic Analyst. Epic is an electronic health record system, widely used in the US. I'll be working on ASAP, the Emergency Department app, which is awesome because I love the ER.
Right now, Mt. Auburn Hospital has a ton of unconnected health record systems, which means lots of delays as doctors wait for patient records and papers to be filed. In 18 months, we have the go-live with epic. Target date is May 2017. It's a long time from now, but there's a lot to do. In essence, I have to (be a part of a team which will) design the ASAP interface, decide what different users have access to, set workflows, etc. When the go-live dust has settled, almost every department in Mt. Auburn hospital (and the associated physician network) will have epic software, leading to much more streamlined care.
I'm in Wisconsin right now, on trip 2 of 3, where I actually learn the system. And I have to get certified before February, because that's when we really get started. But I already passed the test and project for class #1.
It's an awesome job. Very conceptual in nature but leads to a physical project in the end. It's a huge project- the hospital is sinking upwards of $100 million into the implementation, and with great power comes great responsibility. I may be a cog in the wheel of implementation, but I'm still very excited.
More to come.
