Which EMR do you guys like better? Epic or Cerner?

[deleted820760]

I love Epic. Never worked with Cerner. Wondering how they compare. Anybody worked with both?

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[Dred Pirate]

I have worked with both, and both have pro's and con's
Cerner
pro's you verify each order then at the end hit a final submit, if you see something that is an issue, you can go back and cancel it - this is not possible with EPIC
you can enter an order any way you want with Cerner (digoxin 2 drops in right ear) - this allows you to be able to enter those weird orders that may not have been thought out by IT (think topical txa when amicar went on shortage)- but it also increases the risk of a error (allows you to order bentyl IV for example)
Cerner you have two systems (pharmnet and powerchart) and have to toggle back and forth - EPIC it is all one. Cerner you can only open one chart at a time - it is a safety thing, but is annoying when you get a call and have to go into another chart - you have to start all over.

Cerner allows many pop up boxes to put formulary or other admin info it - EPIC does not

EPIC allows you to pull in labs into certain orders - example - all potassium orders you can see the potassium level, same with heparin and anti-xa

EPIC has dot phrases

all in all, I prefer EPIC if it is built right

 

[deleted820760]

I have worked with both, and both have pro's and con's
Cerner
pro's you verify each order then at the end hit a final submit, if you see something that is an issue, you can go back and cancel it - this is not possible with EPIC
you can enter an order any way you want with Cerner (digoxin 2 drops in right ear) - this allows you to be able to enter those weird orders that may not have been thought out by IT (think topical txa when amicar went on shortage)- but it also increases the risk of a error (allows you to order bentyl IV for example)
Cerner you have two systems (pharmnet and powerchart) and have to toggle back and forth - EPIC it is all one. Cerner you can only open one chart at a time - it is a safety thing, but is annoying when you get a call and have to go into another chart - you have to start all over.

Cerner allows many pop up boxes to put formulary or other admin info it - EPIC does not

EPIC allows you to pull in labs into certain orders - example - all potassium orders you can see the potassium level, same with heparin and anti-xa

EPIC has dot phrases

all in all, I prefer EPIC if it is built right

Oh man. From the sounds of it, I would not like Cerner. Lol. We have to exit out of the chart every time we get a call on another patient?? And safety is really important to me. Don’t know how I feel about entering any type of order. Seems like a big error just waiting to happen.

 

[confettiflyer]

There’s workarounds with Cerner, I’ve had 3-5 instances for Pharmnet up when I used it...unless local IT completely locked it down.

Cerner has dot phrases in my local implementation.

I’ve used both, Epic is more clinically comprehensive but Cerner is faster from a rite production standpoint IMO.

 

[confettiflyer]

Key is if built right.

I’ve seen really crappy/sloppy implementations of Cerner, I’ve seen clean ones, too. It also depends on pharmacy involvement in your hospital informatics team.

 

[deleted820760]

As much as I don’t like monopolies, I wish everyone was on Epic. With affordable pricing. I heard epic is the most expensive.
I won’t even apply somewhere with Meditech. Lol

 

[Dred Pirate]

There’s workarounds with Cerner, I’ve had 3-5 instances for Pharmnet up when I used it...unless local IT completely locked it down.

Cerner has dot phrases in my local implementation.

I’ve used both, Epic is more clinically comprehensive but Cerner is faster from a rite production standpoint IMO.

We never had dot phrases with cerner (but that was 6 years ago)

I would open two pharmnets - but I caught myself potentially making to many errors (we still received paper orders at the time) when I would switch for a phone call.

For my situation, I always thought EPIC was much faster, but likely all depends on the build I guess. At first we rushed it into production as the mothership hospital was not ICD10 compliant, so we didn't have all the order sets built - which was a PITA, now it is good

 

[clarkbar]

I love Epic. Never worked with Cerner. Wondering how they compare. Anybody worked with both?

Ive used almost every system out there except Cerner. I suppose EPIC is the best, but outrageously expensive, because it has every lab and chart note in one place. The downside is it's not intuitive and the custimization makes it clunky and no one uses it the same way. Meditech can be a good simple system, but the custimization can also make it differ between facilities; it also isn't a one stop situtation. Medhost is a stripped down Meditech for small hospitals. The worst system I have ever used is the IHS system, that was made by MDs in the late 70s as a hobby. It's pre-DOS.

 

[clarkbar]

I have worked with both, and both have pro's and con's
Cerner
pro's you verify each order then at the end hit a final submit, if you see something that is an issue, you can go back and cancel it - this is not possible with EPIC
you can enter an order any way you want with Cerner (digoxin 2 drops in right ear) - this allows you to be able to enter those weird orders that may not have been thought out by IT (think topical txa when amicar went on shortage)- but it also increases the risk of a error (allows you to order bentyl IV for example)
Cerner you have two systems (pharmnet and powerchart) and have to toggle back and forth - EPIC it is all one. Cerner you can only open one chart at a time - it is a safety thing, but is annoying when you get a call and have to go into another chart - you have to start all over.

Cerner allows many pop up boxes to put formulary or other admin info it - EPIC does not

EPIC allows you to pull in labs into certain orders - example - all potassium orders you can see the potassium level, same with heparin and anti-xa

EPIC has dot phrases

all in all, I prefer EPIC if it is built right

MEDITECH is like that where you can cancel an order, which is extremely important, even though facilities say not to do it. if there is an order that is wrong or d/c by the MD, a canceled order falls off the MAR and the nurse can't see it, but pharmacy can. This is important because a nurse can get confused and give the drug anyway or chart the order as incorrect, even if inactive.

 

[TianjinNVhai]

I have worked with both, and both have pro's and con's
Cerner
pro's you verify each order then at the end hit a final submit, if you see something that is an issue, you can go back and cancel it - this is not possible with EPIC
you can enter an order any way you want with Cerner (digoxin 2 drops in right ear) - this allows you to be able to enter those weird orders that may not have been thought out by IT (think topical txa when amicar went on shortage)- but it also increases the risk of a error (allows you to order bentyl IV for example)
Cerner you have two systems (pharmnet and powerchart) and have to toggle back and forth - EPIC it is all one. Cerner you can only open one chart at a time - it is a safety thing, but is annoying when you get a call and have to go into another chart - you have to start all over.

Cerner allows many pop up boxes to put formulary or other admin info it - EPIC does not

EPIC allows you to pull in labs into certain orders - example - all potassium orders you can see the potassium level, same with heparin and anti-xa

EPIC has dot phrases

all in all, I prefer EPIC if it is built right

I work AT Cerner now, and all the pros you mentioned about Epic, we can do them all now and better

 

[lord999]

Echo all the above. Unless it's Meditech or HBO (which they don't ever fix), it's mostly down to an implementation issue. The better the workflow match, the better the adaption works.

I will say that between the two, Epic is more responsive to customer workflow issues and is absolutely more responsive to "we don't do this, here's a third party that does and we agree to interface" where Cerner has a real serious problem overpromising and underdelivering on customization and new requirement requests with business consequences. If Cerner said no more often that they really cannot make, I would prefer the system from an administration standpoint.

But, I will sing the praises of Intersystems (the backbone of basically every EHR but Cerner and Meditech) as a customer-centric platform to anyone who will listen. Those engineering reps are very responsive and outstanding at growing within their means.

 

[spacecowgirl]

I need dot phrases in my Outlook. And in parenting. .stop .donteven

 

[Sparda29]

Epic by far. I've worked with Allscripts, Cerner, Epic, and Meditech.

I would rank it:

Epic > Allscripts > Meditech > Cerner

 

[samven582]

Epic by far. I've worked with Allscripts, Cerner, Epic, and Meditech.

I would rank it:

Epic > Allscripts > Meditech > Cerner

For me its,

Epic>Allscripts>Cerner>Meditech>................................................................................................................................................VISTA/CPRS

 

[ewax]

For me its,

Epic>Allscripts>Cerner>Meditech>................................................................................................................................................VISTA/CPRS

Unpopular opinion, but once you get used to CPRS it's not so bad (no idea why it still doesn't have a search function). Wish the VA had more money so they could switch to Epic instead of Cerner

 

[Dred Pirate]

I work AT Cerner now, and all the pros you mentioned about Epic, we can do them all now and better

ya - we changed 6 years ago, so I am guessing there has been some major changes. Two of my HS friends (non-pharmacy) actually work for Cerner in KC - so for their sake I hope cerner gets a larger share of the market, out here EPIC is replacing everybody

 

[samven582]

Unpopular opinion, but once you get used to CPRS it's not so bad (no idea why it still doesn't have a search function). Wish the VA had more money so they could switch to Epic instead of Cerner

It has a search function but it's bad lol. I wish CPRS would calculate doses for heparin drip, TPA, etc

 

[njac]

Key is if built right.

I came here to say this.

Amazing cerner is amazing and I would say is equal to, if not better than amazing Epic. But mediocre epic is >>>> mediocre Cerner.

It’s crazy how much variability is out there.