CoverMyMeds Co-Hosts Happy Hour with Mercy Health, Topic of Discussion: ePA Implementation in Health Systems

February 20, 2017  |  Jessica Behrendsen

Tuesday afternoon, we will co-host a happy hour from 4-6 p.m. at CoverMyMeds booth 1214 with our partner Mercy Health, whom we worked with recently to implement an electronic prior authorization (ePA) solution through an integration with the electronic health record (EHR) vendor, Epic.

We spoke with Brian Kolligian and Tom Dilkens from Mercy Health, to collect their feedback on the implementation. These are just a few of the things you can expect to learn when swinging by our happy hour and meeting with Mercy Health!

CoverMyMeds: Were you pleased with the implementation?

Brian Kolligian: I would definitely say we were pleased with the implementation. We went live with around 20 providers and 10 offices and it went smoothly. It was more of a learning curve for us as implementers, but it ended up being very intuitive for the end-users. It’s simply a matter of answering the same questions they would have on paper, electronically. Lyndsey [CoverMyMeds account manager] was a great support with setting up a mini command center for the rollout. It was helpful she was there.

Tom Dilkens: Any of the issues we ran into were able to be addressed and resolved quickly, for the most part the issues didn’t slow things down for our pilot group.

CMM: What was your biggest concern before the implementation? Do you feel like the providers using the solution received it well?

TD: One of my biggest concerns was workflow. We always try to do everything for the physician to make it as easy as possible. Anything that requires them to do more work can be taxing, but really the workflow is in place for the physicians in this situation. They just had to be aware of the new things they saw. A lot of communication fell on the office staff and they were pretty happy in comparison to what their PA solution was prior to implementation. They realized it was making the work they were doing a lot easier and more efficient.

BK: From a workflow perspective it does not increase the provider’s workflow. There are zero clicks added for the provider. Now they can just do it electronically.

CMM: What are you most looking forward to at HIMSS?

TD: I’m excited to see all the vendors and be at a convention this size and see all the products on the market that you never see otherwise.

BK: I have never been before so just looking to take it all in! Who doesn’t want to go to Florida in the middle of winter? I’m looking forward to seeing all the exhibitors and really excited to be a part of the happy hour with CoverMyMeds!

Thanks to Tom and Brian for taking the time to chat! Snacks, drinks and great conversation. What more do you need to wind down on day two of HIMSS? Join us Tuesday, February 21 from 4 p.m to 6 p.m. at Booth 1214.