Everything didn’t go according to plan with Duke’s recent Epic training initiative. But thanks to Wilfong’s retention of a trusted Healthcare IT solutions firm, Duke’s training went precisely as scheduled – and more importantly, as budgeted.

“Haven’t heard of something like this before,” said Mr. Wilfong. “For the folks that don’t work out, we used Partner’s Reserve Credentialed Trainers to close the gap. We wanted to be proactive versus reactive and going out to find more. Partner Healthcare IT provided us with an optimal Plan B; it bailed us out.”

Partner Healthcare IT is a national healthcare IT solutions firm that specializes in EHR implementation, Go-live Activation support with a specific focus on Training Programs. The firm has been utilized now in 40 states and has been retained for notable EHR Go-Lives, including Johns Hopkins University. Duke University Health Systems is one of the top university based health systems in the world. It’s the flagship teaching hospital for the Duke University Health System, a network of physicians and hospitals serving Durham County and Wake County, North Carolina, and surrounding areas, as well as one of three Level I referral centers for the Research Triangle of North Carolina. The American Medical Association ranks Duke among the top 20 of medical schools in the country.

The scope of the project was mountainous. 12,250 ender users, including 3000 physicians, 400+ residents, and 250 med students. 150 ambulatory sites, and Duke Hospital, a 924-bed academic tertiary care facility. The team consisted of four managers, 20 Principal Trainers (PT) and 170 Credentialed Trainers (CT). Mr. Wilfong had multiple choices when it came time to selecting a vendor, but ultimately, it was Partner’s Reserve Credentialed Training Program (RCTP) that made Partner Healthcare IT an easy decision.

The RCPT is simple. Partner brings in “reserves” to audit your specific module’s class, allowing clients to mitigate the risk of losing trainers by “activating” the reserve Credentialed Trainers to backfill any vacancies. Partner provides this at no cost. It’s like insurance for your project, only there’s no premium or creative commercials.

How vital was this for Duke?

“We retained eight of the nine reserved trainers,” acknowledged Mr. Wilfong. “It was a rather creative solution,” he added. “They were free. Where do you even see something like this?”

Partner’s trainers who were activated were educated in the following modules: Anesthesia, Beacon, Cadence, Optime and Orders. Even if Duke did not need to engage them for end-user training, they could bring them back for activation support. Steve recognized the value in this because the trainers would already understand the workflows. And the benefits extended to both parties. Partner Healthcare IT benefited from this program by having a means to grow their Epic talent pool.

Duke was ultimately ready for what would be a successful Go-Live, but post Go-Live, there will still be an ongoing demand for training new users – med school and acquisition mode of buying physician practices. Plus, they’ll still be rolling out modules. Because they need to be mindful of the budget for future ongoing support, Steve thought the RCTP could also serve in this capacity. “Most of their resources were local, which means they were familiar with our workflows. The cost point was so minimal because they’re considered junior resources. But they perform like seasoned vets.”

Duke PTs are internal; however, they looked externally for CTs. Why did Duke decided to use outside consultants for CTs?

“Couldn’t pull people out of operations and keep for time for the project (five weeks). I’ve found that the internal operations folks – they are the best trainers.”

He continued.

“Partners trainers were so enthusiastic, such a positive attitude. A positive attitude is so imperative when you find yourself working in this kind of hectic environment. This isn’t a task you shorthand, you need to ensure you’re retaining the professional assistance a project of this magnitude demands.”

Positive, driven consultants and free trainers ready to step in if your staff waivers. “Partner saved us thousands.” But Duke Health is just the latest major healthcare network to discover that having knowledgeable, talented reserve trainers ready to fill in at a moment’s notice, at no charge, normally does.

The post The Duke of Epic Training: Duke University Health’s Go-Live Detailed appeared first on .

  Electronic Health Record (EHR) software implementation may be the single hardest thing your hospital endures this year, provided it hasn’t already. It’s expensive. It’s stressful. It will consume months. The staffing component of the project is enormous as it is versatile – there is no guarantee your consultants make it from implementation to Go-Live. An early departure can set your project back in both time and money.

At least it used to.

Partner Healthcare IT has had its hands full the past year performing the aforementioned colossal projects. Its list of clients include University of Cincinnati (UC) Health Network, which encompasses the region’s lone Level One Adult Trauma Center, Louisville Kentucky’s own Norton Healthcare, Parkview Health (Fort Wayne, IN) and even Johns Hopkins University. While Partner has gained invaluable experience by merely facilitating these projects, it’s the company’s implementation of postmortem interviews that has allowed Partner to become a staple in the EHR niche.

Partner Project Director Josh Kitchen wanted to share the lessons learned from Partner’s vantage point, in hopes that someone in his position getting ready to embark on a similar project can gain valuable insight. Mr. Kitchen has now completed 14 Go-lives. He’s gone from ambitious to seasoned veteran in an abbreviated time due to the amount of assignments he’s been retained for. Over time, he’s perfected his approach.

“We learned to hybrid module our consultants so they can cover more departments and become more of a utility player,” said Mr. Kitchen as he considered the ways he streamlined processes to increase efficiency. “It helps if they know more than one model. So even if the EHR isn’t Epic, they’ll still be incredibly serviceable.”

Because Partner has developed a very seasoned staff of utility players, it has enabled the firm to have one of the highest ratio of At-the-Elbow (ATE) support to end-users. Partner’s ATE analysts will typically support 8-10 end-users. The industry standard is one-to-five. That mean’s more consultants, which means more money. Partner has surpassed the dated model. The company enforces a “more with less” approach. Mr. Kitchen felt this has been one of the most valuable lessons learned.

“These projects are so huge, they have so many moving parts and people,” he said, with a look of mild duress. “The better the people, the smaller the team, the more effective they are, the less they cost. It’s like having an HIT Seal Team Six – precision ops.”

Clients have repeatedly acknowledged Partner’s “more with less” approach on support ratios because it makes the activation more effective and helps them realize significant cost reductions.

Still, how do you honestly prepare hundreds of users and choreograph a project with so many variables?

“Once the Go-Live Support has been selected and are brought onsite to the client, two full days of orientation for an inpatient activation are key,” responded Kitchen as he thought back to the month leading up to his previous project.  “It’s critical to focus on workflow for the site.”

Too often, we train a general workflow; however, that general workflow does not work for the 100+ departments going live as they are all unique, and there are specific details. Break out these specifics and show the Go-Live support so they are more adequately prepared to support the end users.”

He elaborated further.

Other than workflow being the big part of orientation, it is also imperative Go-Live support understands the discrepancies of what has been trained, and what has been changed on the build side before one goes live.  These discrepancies, if caught early enough, will allow for the departments to experience a more problem-free Go-Live and keep your trouble ticket queues lower those first few crucial days.”

Partner Healthcare IT has routinely been acknowledged for its exemplary communication. Mr. Kitchen addressed this and explained why. “Open communication with key stakeholders at the client level is crucial to mitigate and manage any risks or concerns.” With so many moving parts and users, communication isn’t just imperative, it’s vital for the success of your project. Something as simple as good communication can save your project time and money.”

EHR implementations can keep you up at night. But Partner Healthcare IT has meticulously crafted a very strategic approach that has proven to result in successful Go-Lives, at rates unheard of in this industry. Mr. Kitchen even created the Go-live Calculator, a useful method employed that accurately determines the amount of trainers you’ll need based on end-users. And after dealing with enough early-departures, Partner implemented the Reserved Credentialed Training Program, a program that offers free trained consultants, at zero cost to clients, should consultants exit early. All of this has helped Partner Healthcare IT become a niche in the EHR implementation arena.

If you can’t tell, we love this stuff, so if you’re looking for something that didn’t come up in this article, don’t hesitate to reach out. Contact Josh Kitchen at JKitchen@PartnerPS.com for any specific questions you might have, he’s always willing to talk about a project or to offer any advice he may have for your own project.

The post Lessons Learned from UC Health Network Epic Go-Live appeared first on .

• How to effectively answer this question – Why should someone hire you?
• Differentiate yourself from other job seekers
• Improve your thirty-second pitch

The Rules Have Changed
May 1st @ 2:00 pm EST (11:00 am PST, 12:00 pm MST, 1:00 pm CST)
There is no job security and the rules for finding a job have dramatically changed. You must follow the new rules, or you won’t schedule interviews or get hired. We will discuss:

• What rules have changed
• How to position yourself to WIN
• How to stay ahead of constant changes in the job market

What You Don’t Know Could Hurt Your Next Career Move…Re-THINK! Don’t Make These Mistakes!
May 8th @ 3:00 pm EST (12:00 am PST, 1:00 pm MST, 2:00 pm CST)
Come get the competitive edge and learn what mistakes not to make. It’s not always the most qualified person who gets the job.

How well do you think you are doing on your job search?
Are you making mistakes?

In this presentation, we are going to break it down so you can learn the COMMON MISTAKES made by job seekers and more importantly how to get it right so you are a top candidate.

I have helped thousands of people get jobs they love, and I want to assist you too so you can land your dream job. Come ready to learn and be inspired as this will give you the confidence you need to kick your job search into “high gear”.

Here is a sneak peak of some of the mistakes we are going to Re-THINK:

• Ineffective Networking
• Low Self-Confidence
• Lack of Interview Preparation
• Not Fully understanding Your Value
• Not putting Velocity In Your Search

Say GOODBYE to these mistakes and let’s get you back to work!

To register for the training, you may login to our Career Portal and click on the Webinar Tab. Then click on the event and register by clicking the webinar registration link for each event listed.

To Your Successful Career Search,

Partner Professional Staffing

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Partner Professional Staffing first opened its doors for business in 2006 when three successful IT account executives, and later a fourth accomplish finance account executive, combined their proven efforts to create a business of their own.

“We started as four guys at a table, smiling and dialing,” said Partner Bill Laverty, President of Partner Healthcare IT, the company’s largest division. Today, Partner employs over 260 customers, both internal and remote. The business has taken off in Apollo 11 fashion. At the end of its first year in operation, the company amassed $600k in revenue, an admirable feat for a small business.

By the time the ball dropped on 2012, Partner Professional Staffing recorded $34 million in revenue. Are the partner’s surprised? Not as much as you’d think.

“We were all very successful at our previous positions,” said fellow Partner and President of Recruiting Operations, Terry Correll, as he talked about the “Power of We” in front of the room. “It’s only by relying on each other that we can individually reach our true potential.” The results are in the numbers.

Partner Professional Staffing has become a national staple in the Electronic Health Records field. Locally, Partner is known for its amazing work culture, well before the company received its third consecutive “Best Places to Work” finalist award from the Cincinnati Business Courier.  ”We believe in giving every employee the opportunity to take ownership in the company,” said Partner Steve Schott, President of Finance, before he handed out long-term incentive issues of stock to a long list of employees. “We’re successful because we’re accountable – everyone person here operates their own business. We expect them to act like their name is on the wall.”

The metamorphosis of Partner Professional Staffing has been substantial, and its happened at an aggressive rate. All signs point to an even better 2013, and Greg Hopkins is confident that his partners and he have strategically outlined a plan to navigate the future.

The afternoon ensued with announcement of who won the annual Partner Trip – this year to Sandals, Jamaica, as well as those who achieved the million dollar mark in gross profit – three tenured recruiters who have grown alongside the company. The rewards of success at Partner are voluminous.

“Why do we get up in the morning?” asked Greg to the crowded room of eager Partner employees. “We’re here to empower people. We want to give people, and companies, that prized sense of achievement. We do it through employment.”

The post Big 2013 On Deck at Partner appeared first on .

Norton Healthcare’s Mark Duffy

When Director of eLearning Design and Development Mark Duffy was tasked with overseeing the training for an incredibly aggressive Epic implementation, he felt as if he were standing at the bottom of Everest. “Norton’s timeline was to be the most abbreviated implementation that Epic had ever facilitated. Time was the biggest deal. Everyone wishes they had more time,” said Mark as he recounted the beginning of his recent engagement.

Norton Healthcare is Kentucky’s largest healthcare system, encompassing more than 40 locations in and around Louisville, Kentucky. Its major services include pediatrics, women’s services, orthopedics, cardiac care, stroke care, advanced surgical services, cancer diagnosis, prevention and treatment and a neurospine center. Norton Healthcare was founded in 1866 and is non-profit.

With over ten years of healthcare experience, Mr. Duffy knew that for a job of this size and this tempo, bringing in the right team was absolutely essential to success. Mark engaged Partner Healthcare IT, a nationally utilized healthcare IT solutions and staff augmentation firm to staff their training program. Upon the completion of this engagement, Mr. Duffy was gracious enough to sit down with Partner and discuss some of the things he learned from this mountainous engagement.

His biggest challenge?

“We had around 12,000 employees, vendors and physicians that needed to be trained in Epic. We were also rolling this product out to all the ambulatory sites that have never had an EMR before. That was really daunting. Plus, the volume of trainers that we needed to have and the management of those resources looked to be a hefty challenge as well.”

Mr. Duffy thought back to the dog-days of the project. “We had to develop some of our training classes on the fly and on an as-needed basis. It would’ve been nice to figure out what was needed sooner, but the nature of our timeline and the build process did not make that possible. In a short period of time, we had to identify the problem, identify the solution, create the solution, communicate it to people on how to use it and then finally implement it. You’re doing this all while all these parts are moving, and frankly, it wears you out. It is an extremely tough thing to do.”

He elaborated.

“Logistics are a huge deal. It involves class rooms, trainers, classes offered, dates and times, the LMS system, communication pieces, scheduling – all of those things take up an enormous amount of time and you either have to have somebody that is very skilled to manage this, or a team of people that is skilled and dedicated. Otherwise, it would never get done.”

When asked what makes a good Credentialed Trainer, he replied, “A positive attitude.” But being a good Credentialed Trainer apparently encompassed a lot more. He went on, “The second is aptitude. Is this person knowledgeable in this particular module or this process, or can they be taught to be competent? Then there’s flexibility. Things are constantly changing and you can’t be irritated because your schedule changes. That kind of goes back to the first one, which is the attitude about the whole thing.”

Mr. Duffy acknowledged that during a major initiative like Norton’s Epic training program, you need to anticipate and expect things to go wrong. With as many trainers involved on a one year (plus) training project there is likely to be turnover.  Mr. Duffy and Partner Healthcare IT collaborated on a solution to implement a Reserve Credential Trainer Program.  Both parties brought in trainers to audit the class and Partner agreed not to charge for the reserve trainers.  “The CT Auditor program had really saved us a few times. We had to keep the schedule moving and Partner’s reserve trainers were able to step right in.” This was a win-win for both parties.  Norton was able to mitigate risk of losing trainers by “activating” the reserve trainers to back-fill any vacancies. Even if Norton did not need to engage them for end-user training, they could bring them back for activation support.  Partner Healthcare IT benefited from this program by having a means to grow their Epic talent pool.

An EMR implementation can be stressful, lengthy and expensive. But if Mr. Duffy has proven anything, teaming up with the right Partners can significantly ease the burden. Norton’s Epic implementation has been a huge success, and all but three hospitals have gone live, with three more to go live by March 1st.

The post Lessons Learned from Aggressive Epic Implementation appeared first on .

We did some homework and pulled all the privacy revisions from the Ohio Revised Code – browse them at your convenience. One day you might even need them.

Ohio Revised Code Section 3793.12-13 Makes communications by a person seeking aid in good faith for alcoholism or drug dependence confidential.

3701-55-15(c) all information contained in records of alcohol inpatient/emergency care patient records is confidential and the provider shall only disclose it to authorized persons.

3701.241, requires the health director to develop and administer a program for confidential and anonymous acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) testing

3724.14 Prohibits disclosing the name or social security number of a patient or physician in data. 3727.11 requires such data to be reported to the health department

Ohio Administrative Code 3701-3-08, communicable disease information is confidential. The health department may have access to the record.

2305.251 Provides for confidentiality of information of utilization review committees.

3701-47-03(c) Abortion reports are confidential and shall not contain the name of the woman.

Subpoena: Ohio Revised Code Annotated Section 2317.422, Rule 45 Section 2317.40

The post Patients: Do You Know Your Rights to Privacy? appeared first on .

Have you attended the annual HIMSS Conference? If not, you’re missing out on a fantastic opportunity. The HIMSS Conference is a grand smorgasbord of Healthcare IT professionals traveling from across the nation to share their ideas, network with others, see the work of other businesses in the industry and garner new ideas to take home. This year’s conference will feature keynote speakers such as former President Bill Clinton and political analysts like Karl Rove and James Carville.

We’re excited to attend the conference once again and we wanted to take this opportunity to personally invite you to our booth. We could dull your retinas with paragraphs of text, but we figured we’d just give you the Top 5 reasons you should stop by:

1) We’re big enough (with a dedicated team of 15 Epic recruiters, offshore research, dedicated on shore market research) to outgun any other firm nationwide
2) We’re small and nimble enough to customize service offerings to any hospital system, which we have demonstrated time and time again
3) We are true partners – i.e. we set up our clients to observe Go Lives, partner with our clients to develop long-term programs to benefit them, program rates on new Epic launches to provide single source service and dramatic rate/fee reduction
4) Our core Healthcare IT team, including our lead Project Managers will be there, dressed in sharp attire and ready to discuss our expertise.
5) $1,000 in GIFT CARDS to places like Jos. A. Banks, Target, Best Buy and Amazon!

Please stop by our booth at the National HIMSS conference in New Orleans!
Booth #4847

If you’re interested in scheduling an appointment at our booth, or joining us for a happy hour or dinner, feel free to send our Vice President Ben Bernecker an e-mail at BBernecker@PartnerPS.com.

The post Top 5 Reasons to Visit Partner’s Booth at HIMSS appeared first on .

Tara has developed outstanding relationships with some of the area’s most prominent businesses, including several Fortune 500 companies. Outside of work, you can catch her at any Reds, Bengals or Bearcats game because she’s a loyal season ticket holder…to all three!

Tara Papp, Partner’s Senior Finance Recruiter and Account Executive

Feel free to call her at 513-985-6415, or shoot her an e-mail at TPapp@PartnerPS.com and find out how she can help you make your next career move!

The post Tara Papp Recruiter Spotlight appeared first on .

Bryan G. Epic Bridges Consultant:  “Partner has treated me well, almost like family. Getting in touch with them was so easy – I obviously had my recruiter, but I also got a consultant care professional to assist me with anything I needed.  Both have gone out of their way to help me adapt to the change in jobs. I mean, that’s unique.They’re a local Midwestern company with the ability to utilize resources the size of any national firm. ”

Ray K. VP of Technology  ”There is much to be said about this company’s communication.. Communication between the client and me was great, there was never a delay, nor questions that went unanswered. They did their due diligence to keep me informed, as well as always respond to me in a timely manner. I will absolutely choose Partner to work with again.

“Now that I’m in the position of hiring, I’ll look to them when I have an opening in-house. I’m convinced they could have the candidates now that I might need in the future. Their pipeline is incredible. I should know. After all, I was in it.”

Jeffrey M. EMR Architect “I’m very impressed with Partner. The on-boarding process run by their consultant care professional was so detailed . We came in in for orientation and things went incredibly smooth. It was a fantastic transition and my recruiter follows up with me all the time, just to check up. I really appreciate the constant communication and they really go out of their way to make us feel like we’re part of the family.

I would absolutely choose Partner again for my next career move because of a very positive initial experience. I think the importance is that it’s not just one person keeping in touch – this was my first time using a staffing firm and I wasn’t just dealing with a recruiter, there were so many people across the board that kept up with me throughout this process.”

The post What Our Consultants Are Saying About Partner Healthcare IT: appeared first on .

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