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Health Information Technology (HIT) team will implement the next Epic Upgrade across all UVA Health entities on Sunday, Nov 1. This routine upgrade includes enhanced patient lookup, simplified tab workflows, customization of Hyperspace notifications, timesaving login options, and a unique code status for Periop patients. 

Why Are We Upgrading?

Epic releases comprehensive updates to the Electronic Health Record (EHR) system that incorporates team member feedback to improve functionality, optimize workflows, and introduce new features. These upgrades help ensure our system remains efficient, secure, and aligned with the evolving needs of care delivery.  

What to Expect 

• Upgrade Date: Sunday, Nov. 1 
• Downtime: Estimated to last one hour, from 1-2 a.m.  
• Epic Version: vAug2026 
• Time to Prepare: Less than 30 minutes on average, depending on role.  

Here’s a closer look at the top five changes arriving with this upgrade: 

1. An Updated Look for Patient Lookup Mismatches 

If a Patient Lookup search result has demographics that don't match what you searched for, the mismatch is highlighted and has a caution icon, so it's easy to see the result isn't an exact match. This allows you to easily identify demographic differences before selecting a patient, reducing the risk of selecting the wrong patient.

• To open a patient with a mismatch, click the Accept Mismatch button or use the Alt+H hotkey.
• Double clicking or pressing Enter to select a patient name, is disabled when there is a mismatch.

2. Merging the Plan and Wrap-Up Tabs Into This Visit

The Plan and Wrap-Up tabs have been combined into a single This Visit tab to simplify the outpatient visit workspace. All sections previously appearing in the Plan or Wrap-Up tabs now appear on the This Visit tab with the Plan sections located in the left column and the Wrap Up sections in the right column.  

Note: If you have the sidebar open, the left and right columns may combine. You can modify the navigator layout to ensure the sections you use most appear at the top. 

Before: 

After:

3. Manage Hyperspace Notifications by Category

Review and adjust your Hyperspace notifications by Category in the Notifications Settings activity to easily adjust non-critical Hyperspace notifications.  

• Settings are organized into two tabs: Hyperspace-Only Notifications and Push Notifications.
• Notifications are grouped into Categories: Clinical, Reporting, Admin, Printing and File Exports, Revenue Cycle, and User Settings.
• Select the All option to see the full list of suppressible notifications.

Note: Critical Hyperspace notifications cannot be turned off. Notifications marked as Important or Very Important can be turned off after acknowledging a warning dialog. 

4. Skip Department Selection and See Your Login Context at a Glance 

• Save time by skipping the Department selection when you login to Epic. If you choose a Skip this screen option, the department can be updated later.
  1. Note: If you populate additional information on this screen, such as Supervising provider, this option will not be available.
• See your current department and switch departments in the upper right corner of Epic.
• When changing context, if you previously selected Until tomorrow or Always at login, you will receive a pop-up to choose an option related to your default department.

5. Unique Code Status for Periop Patients 

A patient with a DNAR order may need to be a Full Code temporarily during a procedure. A new procedural order covers that window. The patient’s usual code status is reinstated once the defined timeframe is completed. 

• The end of the temporary code status change can either be determined by the procedure event end or by the duration. 

• The temporary Code status can be easily identified within the Storyboard. 

Upgrade materials will be available on Oct. 18. Look for the "What's New" pop-up notifications to appear in Epic. They will: 

• Provide upgrade details tailored to your system usage in Epic Hyperspace.  
• Offer links to the Epic Learning Library for UVA Health-specific supplemental material.  
• Be accessible from the notification, Megaphone icon, Assistant bar, and Epic Help.

For additional UVA Health-specific upgrade resources, search "Upgrade" in the Epic Learning Library.