What people complain about in Epic
42 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
- 42
- 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.
- Offline electronic charting tool with automatic sync once systems are restored
- Remote fetal heart rate monitoring display accessible from nurses' station
- Alternative timekeeping system with manual entry and payroll integration
- Medication administration system with barcode scanning and override documentation
- Automated triage and message management system integrated with Epic
- Workforce management tool to optimize nurse scheduling and task allocation
- AI assistant for prior authorization and appeals processing
- 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
- 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
- Automated detection of incomplete admission documentation with alerts to the receiving nurse
- Real-time vital sign alerts pushed to the assigned nurse's device
- Decision support for task prioritization based on clinical urgency and time sensitivity
- Digital patient transfer management system with equipment tracking
- Medical equipment integration with EHR systems
- Standardized inter-facility communication platform for patient handoffs
- 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
- Mobile app that provides unit-specific IV management reminders and protocols
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.
- Paper charting
- Nurses sit in patients' rooms for 12 hours listening to FHR and staring at patients
- Using same paycheck as last week due to timekeeping system down
- Overriding meds in Pyxis willy-nilly without electronic verification
- Manually managing all MyChart messages, calls, and prior authorizations alone
- Handling nurse schedule, stocking, and supporting floats due to short staffing
- Acting as Epic support and resource for providers and staff
- 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
- 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
- Charge nurse verbally triages and redistributes tasks without system support
- Nurse manually checks EHR for incomplete admission tasks instead of automated alerts
- Nurse relies on tech to verbally communicate abnormal vitals rather than electronic alerts
The problems themselves
Highest opportunity score first.
Hospital systems are down after a cyberattack, forcing staff to use paper charting and manual monitoring, creating significant patient safety risks and documentation burdens.
5CriticalHealthcareSoftware Reliability & PerformanceDowntime Charting & Continuity SuiteA triage nurse is overwhelmed by an unmanageable workload in an understaffed outpatient clinic, leading to severe burnout and feelings of being undervalued.
5CriticalHealthcareWorkload ManagementTriageFlow AssistNurses 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 PlatformUnderstaffed cardiac PCU unit forces new nurse to manage unsafe patient ratios, leading to burnout and thoughts of quitting.
4HighHealthcareStaffing & SchedulingStaffSafeA 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 AssistA new nurse is overwhelmed by unsafe patient loads and incomplete handoffs, leading to missed tasks, delays, and emotional distress.
4HighHealthcareWorkload ManagementShiftLoad BalancerHealthcare 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 PlatformA 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 ProNew 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 MentorOR nurse unable to complete patient documentation due to Epic EHR shutdown during overnight on-call shift, risking incomplete records and compliance issues.
4HighHealthcareClinical DocumentationEpic Offline Charting BridgeNew graduate RN struggles with time management and workflow on a busy Med-Surg unit, feeling overwhelmed by tasks, communications, and patient changes.
4HighHealthcareWorkflow ManagementNurseFlow NavigatorOutpatient healthcare workers are struggling with a difficult transition to Epic EHR, experiencing workflow inefficiencies and a steep learning curve.
4HighHealthcareTraining & OnboardingEpicFlow CoachNew 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 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 PrioritizerEPIC electronic health record is optimized for inpatient charting, making outpatient charting workflows unnecessarily difficult and inefficient for clinicians.
3MediumHealthcareClinical ManagementRenalOutChart ProA 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 Assistant
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!