Team Structure Models for Achieving Epic Analytics & Reporting Goals

The choice of team structure model is a critical factor that supports – or in some cases, impedes – healthcare organizations from fully leveraging their EMR system, so they can achieve key Epic analytics and reporting goals.

Below, we highlight some of the most common team structure models, keeping in mind that each organization is unique, and that the optimal model is one that takes these differences into consideration:

Centrally Managed Team Model

In this model, a Team Leader centrally manages Clarity Report Writers and a Reporting Workbench Administrator. This team is works closely with ARLs (Application Reporting Leads) on each team, who take ownership of the reporting for their respective application. There is also significant integration and interaction with the technical team.

One of the key advantages of this model is that organizations can have all of their Clarity Report Writers working on the same team, which supports consistency with respect to reporting tools, reporting layouts, and efficient ticket turnaround and management. Furthermore, because different specialists and experts are working together, there is more opportunity for knowledge sharing and training, both informally and formally.  

However, there are also some potential drawbacks of this model -- much of which has to do with the significant impact that Application Reporting Leads have the capacity or competence to handle all of the organization’s reporting requirements. There can also be a disconnect with application teams, which can lead to confusion and conflict with respect to developing workflows on the front end, and collaborative decision-making. End users who rely on the reports may also feel that they’re excluded from having input, and are not sure who/how to escalate their feedback and concerns.

Allocated Report Writers Team Model

In this model, Clarity Report Writers are allocated in various departments (rather than centralized and co-located per the model described above).

The advantages of this approach is that managers each department can more efficiently get the Epic analytics information and reports (either Clarity of Workbench) they need, without having to go through a centralized process – and possibly face delays, as other managers/departments get priority.  

The potential drawbacks to this approach are that not all Clarity Report Writers may have the same skill and competence, and thus not able to work at the same speed or proficiency. In addition, duplicate reports can become an issue both in terms of efficiency, and data credibility if the reports do not necessarily show the same data. This can seriously undermine trust in Epic’s analytics and reporting capacity. Ultimately, organizations that deploy this model must be able to establish and enforce relatively complex data governance policies and procedures.

The Syntrix Solution

While these are two of the most popular team structure models that organizations can deploy to achieve their Epic analytics and reporting goals, your healthcare organization should find the one that fits you best!

At  Syntrix Consulting Group, we specialize in EMR system implementation and optimization, and can guide your healthcare organization on choosing an efficient team structure model. Your data should work hard for you and utilizing your team appropriately can help you achieve key Epic analytics and reporting goals.  Contact us today to learn more.