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The health systems that see the strongest Epic adoption outcomes share a common thread: they invest in their Super User programs the right way.
That means starting with the right definition. A Super User is not simply the most technically proficient person on the unit. The role is bigger than that, and more valuable. A well-prepared Epic Super User serves as a workflow-aware peer resource, helping colleagues navigate real situations in real time, building confidence across the department, and sustaining adoption long after go live occurs.
At CSI Companies, we've seen health systems hire our consultants as permanent employees across multiple engagements. It happens in different roles, at different organizations, and at different points in an engagement. But the reason is always the same: the consultant proved they were exactly who the organization needed.
At its core, chart abstraction is the process of reviewing medical records to identify, extract, and document specific clinical data points. Depending on the context, that data might feed into a quality reporting registry, support a population health initiative, or prepare patient records for migration to a new EHR system such as Epic.
The health systems that see the strongest Epic adoption outcomes share a common thread: they invest in their Super User programs the right way.
That means starting with the right definition. A Super User is not simply the most technically proficient person on the unit. The role is bigger than that, and more valuable. A well-prepared Epic Super User serves as a workflow-aware peer resource, helping colleagues navigate real situations in real time, building confidence across the department, and sustaining adoption long after go live occurs.
At CSI Companies, we've seen health systems hire our consultants as permanent employees across multiple engagements. It happens in different roles, at different organizations, and at different points in an engagement. But the reason is always the same: the consultant proved they were exactly who the organization needed.
At its core, chart abstraction is the process of reviewing medical records to identify, extract, and document specific clinical data points. Depending on the context, that data might feed into a quality reporting registry, support a population health initiative, or prepare patient records for migration to a new EHR system such as Epic.
Healthcare IT staff augmentation is a flexible staffing model in which a hospital or health system contracts external IT professionals on a temporary or project basis to work alongside and under the direction of the internal team.
For health systems running on Epic for 10 or more years, the environment starts to show its age. Workflows misalign with how care is delivered today. Customizations stack on top of older ones. Staff work around the system instead of in it. Leadership eventually arrives at a familiar crossroads: fix what you have or start over.
Referral leakage not only causes a financial drain but also creates care fragmentation and compromised data integrity. Think about this: a patient sees a specialist across town, gets duplicate labs run, and those results never make it back to their primary care physician. One missed referral at a time could push a patient to a competitor with a smoother workflow.
Epic EHR over-customization is one of the most common challenges facing health system IT leaders today. Every health system that has customized its Epic environment made thoughtful decisions at the time. Those customizations were responses to real clinical needs, evolving workflows, and the demands of caring for patients in a specific community.
EHR optimization is one of the highest-return initiatives available to health systems and one of the most consistently overlooked. If your environment has grown through years of customizations, workarounds, and point-in-time builds, there’s a strong chance you’re leaving significant value on the table. Not because something went wrong, but because the nature of complex EHR environments is that they drift over time. Drift, when addressed deliberately, becomes an opportunity.
Case Studies
An acute care hospital, located in central Alabama, with multi-specialty clinics, an ambulatory surgery center, an imaging center along with several ambulatory facilities, throughout the region, recognized there was an opportunity to take a deeper look at their Clinical Documentation Improvement/Integrity (CDI) program to possibly make some adjustments to improve the overall approach.
With that, CSI partnered to provide full access to our Revenue Cycle and coding team which comprises of over 1,000 US-based detailed coders. Backed by broad experience in EHR implementation, revenue readiness assessments, and coding advisory services, CSI brought a strong foundation of knowledge to the partnership. CSI understood the need to support our client here specifically with RCM system workflow improvements, automation integration, physician training, and staffing.
A large regional health system partnered with CSI Companies to elevate its ServiceNow platform from a set of ad hoc fixes to a fully managed, strategic capability.
Originally brought in under an “on-demand” model to handle immediate ServiceNow needs, CSI quickly demonstrated the value of its expertise, agility, and client-first approach. What began as limited support evolved into a long-term managed service engagement, transforming how the health system approached ServiceNow enhancements, strategic roadmap planning, and digital strategy.
For more than a decade, many health systems across the country have customized their Epic environments to accommodate workflows and meet the preferences of their end users. While this approach once allowed for flexibility, it also created highly complex and difficult-to-maintain systems that limited scalability and hindered innovation.
Recognizing the need to modernize and return to a more standardized, foundational Epic build, a leading West Coast Health System partnered exclusively with CSI Companies to lead their Epic Refuel initiative. This was a comprehensive program designed to streamline their EHR environment, optimize workflows and system build, and reimagine governance.
When a large health system embarked on implementing Epic’s Beaker Module, leadership knew success would require more than a strong technical build. The rollout affected not only laboratory staff, but also nurses, physicians, and phlebotomists who relied on accurate ordering and collection workflows. Ensuring these diverse groups were aligned and confident in new processes presented a significant change management challenge.
To address this challenge, our team partnered with the organization to deploy a holistic strategy focused on three critical components: training, change management, and at-the-elbow support. Together, these elements would prepare staff and ensure confidence at the moment of go-live.
A long-standing healthcare partner came to CSI with their most ambitious training request yet, simultaneous Epic training across rural Iowa during the dead of winter. Snowstorms, limited travel options, scarce hotel rooms, and training space shortages were just the beginning. The client needed a partner who could take on the full logistical burden and keep costs in check.
Success Stories
A large regional health system partnered with CSI Companies to elevate its ServiceNow platform from a set of ad hoc fixes to a fully managed, strategic capability.
Originally brought in under an “on-demand” model to handle immediate ServiceNow needs, CSI quickly demonstrated the value of its expertise, agility, and client-first approach. What began as limited support evolved into a long-term managed service engagement, transforming how the health system approached ServiceNow enhancements, strategic roadmap planning, and digital strategy.
For more than a decade, many health systems across the country have customized their Epic environments to accommodate workflows and meet the preferences of their end users. While this approach once allowed for flexibility, it also created highly complex and difficult-to-maintain systems that limited scalability and hindered innovation.
Recognizing the need to modernize and return to a more standardized, foundational Epic build, a leading West Coast Health System partnered exclusively with CSI Companies to lead their Epic Refuel initiative. This was a comprehensive program designed to streamline their EHR environment, optimize workflows and system build, and reimagine governance.
Our client, a 15-billion-dollar payment processing company, recently invested millions of dollars in infrastructure and technology. On top of the company’s demand for skilled talent, its need for strategic advisory, and structure became vital. One of the client’s key initiatives was a digital transformation project – migrating a high volume, client-facing application from on-premise hosting to an AWS’s cloud environment. To achieve this goal, CSI built a streamlined delivery team and added critical IT expertise to their existing applications, supporting their transition from on-premise to cloud.