Published: February 4, 2019

Epic-approved solution for data sharing in pilot-testing with the Reg-ent Registry

Epic is one of the most highly used electronic health records and is used by many Academic Medical centers, hospitals, and health systems. FIGmd has been working with Epic to develop an Epic-approved solution for use across all the FIGmd registries, including Reg-ent.


Interview with Tim Parr, Vice President of Technology at FIGmd

Epic is one of the most highly used electronic health records and is used by many Academic Medical centers, hospitals, and health systems. FIGmd has been working with Epic to develop an Epic-approved solution for use across all the FIGmd registries, including Reg-ent.

Tim ParrTim Parr

Tim Parr, FIGmd’s Vice President of Technology, sat down with the Bulletin to discuss a new solution that will allow practices with Epic to share data with the Reg-ent registry once the pilot concludes in early Spring 2019.

Q

What is the new solution that will allow practices with Epic to share data with Reg-ent?

A

The new solution is the Epic FIGmd Registry Practice Connector (RPC) app, which is available in the Epic App Orchard. The app works by connecting directly to the Caboodle data warehouse within Epic. It does require that a site have version 15 or higher of Epic Caboodle because those versions have a component called Kit, which is a gateway. So, you need both Kit and Caboodle to be able to interface successfully with the Epic Caboodle enterprise data warehouse. Once the FIGmd RPC is connected to Caboodle, FIGmd is able to query a standard data model that has been provided by Epic to allow for extraction of data for the Reg-ent registry.

With the Epic FIGmd Registry Practice Connector utilizing the Epic Caboodle data warehouse, we have access to more and better data than would typically be available through a data-push scenario, where files are prepared and then data is pushed to the Reg-ent registry.

Q

How will this benefit the Reg-ent registry?

A

Since this app is an Epic-approved solution, it streamlines the compliance, security, and privacy approval processes for institutions that want to contribute data to Reg-ent. The end result is a more straightforward path to participation in Reg-ent.

Q

 When will Reg-ent Epic practices be able to use this new solution?

A

Epic practices will be able to use the new solution once the pilot is complete, which is anticipated to be spring 2019. At that point, it will be opened to the general Reg-ent membership, and we look forward to onboarding all Epic practices that want to participate in Reg-ent.

Q

Why should AAO-HNS members participate in Reg-ent?

A

Contributing your otolaryngology-specific clinical data to the Reg-ent data set allows you to receive access to your data and, through the Reg-ent dashboard, access to comparison benchmark data of your peers participating in Reg-ent. In addition, you will be contributing to the larger, de-identified data set that can be used for advocacy, research, FDA product surveillance, and future measures development.

To learn more about the Reg-ent Registry please go to www.reg-ent.org.


More from February 2019 – Vol. 38, No. 1