Beacon is a unique application in the Epic universe. Beacon lives somewhere between Ambulatory, Willow, and Inpatient, drawing functionality from each application. While Beacon itself is a fairly straightforward app to learn and build, a deep knowledge of at least one of the other apps is necessary to take full advantage of Beacon, with Willow being the most influential secondary application. Chemotherapy roadmaps were inherently more complex than the standard admission order

Up to this point, electronic health records have done a remarkable job transitioning the American healthcare system off of paper charts. While there are still vestigial paper processes present in the corners of uninspired healthcare organizations, over 95% of hospitals have met Meaningful Use requirements for health IT. But, is it enough to simply transfer the same paper workflows to the computer? Eventually machine learning will be unleashed on EHRs, finally unlocking the va

Constant drug shortages have been a major problem and a perpetual source of frustration for hospitals over the past few years. No department is hit harder by this epidemic than the pharmacy, which often gets unjustly blamed for manufacturer shortages. Having been on the receiving end of a frustrated physician’s tirade in the past, I know first hand the plight of drug shortages. It doesn’t help that drug companies are less than transparent about the reason for the shortages, l

There is an emerging trend spreading across various industries that is a natural fit to the healthcare industry: the gig economy. In general, the gig economy features workers providing services to organizations as freelancers or independent consultants on a short-term basis. Instead of hiring full-time employees, organizations will hire someone for a “gig” and then move on after the project is complete. Hospitals have been doing this for years in times of talent shortage, esp