What people complain about in Epic
31 reported problems name Epic as what the person is currently using. Below is what they said was missing, and what they resorted to instead.
- Complaints
- 31
- Avg severity
- 3.5/5
- Would pay to fix
- 1
- Industries
- 3
What they wish it did
Capabilities people described needing that Epic does not give them, taken from the highest-scoring problems first. These are individual accounts written in each person’s own terms, so two entries may describe the same underlying gap in different words.
- Mobile backup system for narcotics documentation during EHR outages
- Automatic reconciliation tool between manual documentation and primary systems
- Real-time compliance monitoring during equipment failures
- Integrated secure messaging system within the EHR to eliminate personal phone use
- Automated equipment inventory tracking to alert supply shortages and prevent personal purchases
- Tube feeding management module that schedules and logs flushes automatically
- Mobile documentation tool that allows immediate charting at bedside without breaking workflow
- AI-powered memory aid that captures and sorts findings by patient for later charting
- Real-time documentation tool that captures interventions and assessments via voice during care
- Automated alerts for missing documentation, such as unscanned medications or unrecorded provider notifications
- A cognitive support system that helps nurses with ADHD manage task switching and prioritization during shifts
- Mobile app that provides unit-specific IV management reminders and protocols
- Automated provider paging decision tree based on time and patient condition
- Real-time charting dashboard that flags missed or incomplete documentation
- Digital patient transfer management system with equipment tracking
- Medical equipment integration with EHR systems
- Standardized inter-facility communication platform for patient handoffs
- Patient identification system using facial recognition or wearable NFC tags
- Rapid onboarding dashboard for new nurses to learn resident routines and care plans
- Software that eliminates repetitive data entry by auto-populating fields based on visit patterns and patient history
- automated order conflict resolution that highlights latest valid order
- task prioritization algorithm that surfaces urgent orders based on clinical context
- notification system that alerts nurse to new or changed orders in real-time
- Interactive training simulation that mirrors Epic's partial-package and dose-range order workflows
- Just-in-time reference tool for medication documentation steps within the EHR
What they do instead
The manual processes people built around the gap. A long workaround list is the strongest evidence a problem is real: someone is already paying for it in time. Where several people described the same workaround, it is marked.
- manually overriding narcotics documentation during system downtime
- using downtime sheets (when available) for manual documentation
- bypassing key safety checks for efficiency
- nurses use personal phones to reach consulting physicians
- nurses bought their own temporal thermometer because unit doesn't have one
- manual flushing of tube feeding every 3-4 hours due to no flush bags
- Verbally tells preceptor she needs to sit and chart after each patient to avoid forgetting findings
- Charting by exception and trying to at least get an assessment on everyone
- Retrospectively remembering and charting events that happened during a crisis
- Prioritizing patient care over documentation and catching up later
- Manually scanning controlled substances during patient deterioration
- Relies on preceptors for verbal guidance on IV hydration timing and provider paging protocols
- Uses mental notes and paper to track which fluids need restarting after IV team visits
- Repeatedly asks different preceptors for same information on provider contact rules
- getting paper packets from EMS during transfers
- manually tracking which equipment belongs to which facility
- relying on memory/verbal communication about equipment needs
- memorizing residents by face and routine
- relying on only 7 buddy shifts before working alone
- manually sifts through tens of orders to find relevant ones
The problems themselves
Highest opportunity score first.
Nurses face serious professional and legal risks when forced to manually override narcotics documentation during system downtimes or equipment failures.
5CriticalHealth, Wellness, and BeautyCompliance ManagementNarcSafe Downtime DocumentationDisorganized workflow and poor software (AllScripts) in a new hospital ICU lead to high cognitive load, unsafe practices, and nurse burnout.
5CriticalHealthcareWorkflow ManagementFlowICU – Optimized ICU Workflow PlatformOutpatient healthcare workers are struggling with a difficult transition to Epic EHR, experiencing workflow inefficiencies and a steep learning curve.
4HighHealthcareTraining & OnboardingEpicFlow CoachA new RN on orientation struggles to remember patient assessment details when forced to batch chart after seeing all four patients, especially while learning a new EHR system and managing fatigue.
4HighHealthcareDocumentationBedsideCapture ProA new ED nurse with ADHD is overwhelmed by the demands of patient care and falls behind on accurate, timely charting in Epic, especially during high-acuity situations, leading to missed documentation and medication scanning errors.
4HighHealthcareClinical DocumentationChartFlow AssistNew med-surg nurse with a psych background struggles to manage full patient assignment due to unfamiliarity with surgical tasks, IVs, charting, and provider communication.
4HighHealthcareClinical DocumentationNurseFlow MentorHealthcare facilities struggle with equipment and patient information handoffs during patient transfers, leading to critical treatment delays and safety risks.
4HighHealth, Wellness, and BeautyWorkflow ManagementTransferSync Medical Handoff PlatformNew grad nurse in long-term care struggles to identify residents with dementia who lack wristbands or identifiers, and must learn a new software system with minimal training.
4HighHealth, Wellness, and BeautyPatient Safety ManagementQuickID CareHome care clinicians struggle with inefficient documentation software that requires repetitive data entry, wasting time and causing frustration.
4HighHealthcareClinical DocumentationSmartNote Home HealthNurses in busy ICU settings miss or overlook critical orders because they are jumbled with duplicates and conflicting instructions across multiple providers, with no clear prioritization or notification.
4HighHealthcareClinical ManagementOrderGuard Clinical PrioritizerNew nurse lacks adequate onboarding and training on Epic/Omnicell medication documentation workflows, leading to errors and fear of disciplinary action.
4HighHealthcareTraining & OnboardingMedTrain ProNurses spend more time on charting than on patient care, leading to delayed clock-out and burnout.
4HighHealth, Wellness, and BeautyClinical ManagementChartFlow RNNew acute care therapist struggles with slow documentation in EPIC due to unfamiliarity with required fields and workflow.
3MediumHealthcareClinical DocumentationEPIC Flow OptimizerEPIC electronic health record is optimized for inpatient charting, making outpatient charting workflows unnecessarily difficult and inefficient for clinicians.
3MediumHealthcareClinical ManagementRenalOutChart ProA nurse struggles to remember assessment findings when charting later in Epic, and loses paper notes, due to ADHD and manual documentation, and wants a compliant way to dictate notes on a personal phone without violating privacy policies.
3MediumHealthcareClinical DocumentationChartVoice Secure Clinical ScribeNurse cannot easily document patient rounds in a timely manner due to lack of required policy and absence of mobile devices for real-time charting, leading to gaps in care documentation and legal concern.
3MediumHealthcareClinical DocumentationRoundFlowA new graduate nurse struggles to efficiently review and track new orders and lab results in Epic, finding orders wordy and disorganized, and has difficulty remembering to follow up on discontinuing old orders.
3MediumHealthcareClinical DocumentationOrderFlow Nurse AssistantAn outpatient cardiology nurse struggles to quickly calculate medication refill amounts due to dyslexia and difficulty with quick math when checking previous prescriptions in Epic.
3MediumHealth, Wellness, and BeautyPractice ManagementRefillCalc ProA nurse switching hospital units struggles to adapt to different unwritten protocols and equipment, causing confusion and self-doubt about their competence.
3MediumHealthcareTraining & OnboardingUnitWise Clinical Onboarding CompanionNurse finds AI documentation tool 'Chart with Art' adds time because it still requires extensive review and manual completion of missed assessment items.
3MediumHealthcareClinical DocumentationCliniScribe AI
Read this fairly
These are complaints, and only complaints — nobody posts to say their software worked. A high count mostly reflects how many people use Epic at all, so this page is not a quality judgement and should not be read as one. What it is good for is the shape of the gaps: the specific jobs people could not get done, which are the same whether the tool is popular or not.
Folded from: EPIC, Epic, Epic!