The Quad Is Coming: Epic Fall 2023 'Quad' Upgrade Scheduled for Nov. 5

10.9.2023

The Quad Is Coming: Epic Fall 2023 ‘Quad’ Upgrade Scheduled for Nov. 5

By Elle Hogan

UVA Health uses Epic as its electronic medical record system, and the Health Information Technology (HIT) team actively supports and updates Epic regularly. HIT typically schedules Epic updates twice a year to improve system performance, enhance functionality, and increase efficiency.

Below are the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) and responses about the Epic Quad Upgrade.

The Basics

When will the Epic Quad Upgrade occur?

The Epic Quad Upgrade will occur in the early morning hours on Sunday, Nov. 5. The system will be down from 12:55 a.m. Daylight Saving Time to 1:30 a.m. Eastern Standard Time. HIT is estimating a 95-minute downtime; however, Epic will be restored to customers earlier if possible.

Why are Epic upgrades necessary?

HIT updates Epic to improve system performance, enhance functionality, and increase efficiency.

Why is this update called the “Quad Upgrade”? Why are we combining four updates into one?

This is a four-version upgrade.

This year, HIT suspended updates during the UVA Community Health integration. It was important to maintain a stable and unchanging Epic environment to support the development of the Epic modules for the new entities. To account for this pause, four upgrades are being combined into one.

How long will Epic be down during the upgrade?

HIT is estimating a 95-minute downtime; however, Epic will be restored to customers earlier if possible.

Why did we schedule the upgrade on a weekend?

HIT recognizes that weekend downtimes are disruptive, which is why upgrades are not typically scheduled on weekends. However, Epic was already going to be down during this time as is our protocol during Daylight Saving Time for documentation integrity.

We’re taking advantage of this already-scheduled downtime to execute the upgrade and minimize further disruption.

The Changes

What are the changes involved with the Epic Quad Upgrade?

Although this is a Quad Upgrade, the impact to you and your teams will be rather limited in scope. However, these are some of the differences you may notice:

Patient Registration Navigator — a new feature that will help reduce errors and quickly identify missing information.
Simplified Communications — the Letters and Communications Activities are merging as a new, streamlined, one-stop shop for letter writing.
Snapboard — now more intuitive, with changes designed to help team members find relevant information and complete tasks more quickly.
Flowsheets Macro Tool — this new feature will allow clinicians to save time on documentation by creating and utilizing Macros for sets of data that are frequently entered.
Dashboards — several changes are coming for Reporting and Slicer Dicer. More flexibility with Dashboards and access to more Data Models.

How to Prepare

How should team members prepare for the Epic Quad Upgrade?

HIT will have role-based training materials available in the Epic Learning Library beginning Oct. 18. These training resources will explain key changes, how the Epic Quad Upgrade will impact your Epic experience and will provide step-by-step guidance on how to prepare for and navigate the upgraded Epic system.

From Guides to Slides

Good news! HIT has moved from Upgrade Guides to Upgrade Slides! HIT has extracted the most important changes to streamline training information, and to provide more efficient training resources.

Learning Home Dashboard

New this year, HIT has created an Upgrade Learning Home Dashboard to provide one access point for all training material. When a team member logs into Epic, they will now be able to view the Learning Home Dashboard and link directly to the Epic Learning Library to learn about specific changes that are relevant to their role.

Practice Environment/Playground

Team members can also prepare for the Quad Upgrade by utilizing the Practice Environment (Playground).

Please use huddles to cascade information to team members about the Epic Quad Upgrade and training resources.