Epic Willow is a specialized pharmacy management module within the Epic EMR system. It is designed to optimize medication inventory management (MIM) and streamline pharmaceutical workflows.
By integrating key features of medicine and computer science, Willow ensures efficient and accurate prescription filling, maintains controlled medication data, and adheres to the ever-changing landscape of medical informatics.
What is Epic Willow?
Epic Willow is an Epic pharmacy network application, including both inpatient and outpatient tracking functions and Epic medication dispense history. The Willow software is built within the integrated Epic platform and is centered around the retrieval and distribution of medication to and from an organization’s central pharmacy. The solution focuses on optimizing pharmacy management and medication distribution processes through its core medication database and improved prescription-filling procedures.
Epic Willow has several primary versions, including Inpatient, Ambulatory, and Inventory, which focus on inpatient medication management, outpatient and retail pharmacies, and medication inventory within an organization. Although it offers several different versions and numerous unique capabilities, the Epic Willow hospital pharmacy software remains focused on two primary areas of the pharmaceutical world: IV workflow management systems (WFMS) and medication inventory management.
With its top-of-the-line pharmaceutical database, ability to track in-scope medications, and simple integrations with other systems, this Epic application is sure to make a difference in any healthcare organization.
Main Versions of Epic Willow
Epic Willow pharmacy training is built to make the lives and jobs of patients and physicians easier. That’s why they made a few different versions of the solution to help customize your pharmacy management systems. Let’s take a closer look at the key features of each version.
Epic Willow Inpatient
The Inpatient pharmacy system offers centralized pharmacy communication systems and automates data collection and management workflows. The module also provides better insights to optimize prescription ordering, distribution, charging, and billing procedures and activities.
And, because all Epic modules are built on the same integrated platform, Willow Inpatient is easily integrated with both the EpicCare Inpatient Clinical System and the already embedded Epic decision support engine. This connection makes it easier than ever for the system to guide and support important pharmaceutical and financial decisions and practices within your organization.
Epic Willow Ambulatory
While the Willow Ambulatory module accesses the same database as the entire EpicCare system, this version focuses its efforts on retail pharmacy and outpatient medication management. The comprehensive outpatient system enables physicians to easily access a patient’s complete medical history and more accurately track outpatient prescriptions as they come in and out of the integrated pharmacy system.
The Ambulatory pharmacy module also offers integration tools that enable the sending and receiving of medication information and requests to external pharmacy systems outside of Willow Ambulatory. This way, outpatient and retail pharmacy systems are more interconnected across the board, leaving less room for error between systems, and no patient will wonder if and when they will receive their prescriptions.
Epic Willow Inventory
We all know that inventory is a key factor in pharmacy and medication management. Let’s face it, if a medication is on back order or there isn’t enough supply to fill a patient’s prescription, that’s a matter of life and death for some patients. Epic understands the importance of managing and tracking inventory in both inpatient and outpatient pharmacies. That’s why the system offers key supply management integrations to stay up-to-date with incoming and outgoing medication inventory on a regular basis.
On the one hand, the Epic Willow Inventory system automatically updates medication inventory when pharmacies in the system receive new medications and shipments. On the other hand, the inventory solution also tracks inventory flowing out of the system, ensuring that the amount of medication going out to patients or healthcare providers is never excessive for internal inventory and supply management teams to handle.
With this kind of integration on both the sending and receiving ends of prescriptions, pharmacists, physicians, and patients should never be left out in the cold when it comes to their medication needs.
Key Features of the Solution
Whether you’re using the Inpatient, Ambulatory, or Inventory versions of the solution, Epic Willow offers a few key features that set it apart from other pharmacy management systems and applications.
Here are some of the most beneficial capabilities of the Epic Willow pharmacy software:
- Integrated prescription and distribution functions in a singular system
- Improved visibility for medication management (e.g., prescription fill status, medication recommendations for discharge, medication history, etc.)
- Automatic prescription change updates in patient medical records
- Increased patient engagement with the self-service request portal (i.e., track, update, and initiate refill requests in the patient portal)
- Real-time notifications for patients when medication is ready for pick-up
- Ability to integrate with other Epic modules, external systems, or third-party applications
- Single-system approach keeps medication data secure and maintains patient safety
Epic’s easy-to-use interface and multi-functional integrations allow users to store important medication data, stay up-to-date with prescription changes, coordinate prescription orders and requests between different departments and systems, and optimize overall pharmacy workflows.
Getting Started with Epic Software
Our team of senior-level Epic consultants has extensive experience in virtually every module of Epic and will provide all the right tools to get the job done on time and within budget.
Not sure how to get started with your Epic Willow implementation? Our consultants can help. Need a certified Epic analyst to help you navigate through your new system landscape? Our consultants have passed their Epic certification courses with flying colors and are ready to guide you to success.
How Can We Help?
We understand that choosing a technology expert to act as an extension of your team during Epic implementation or integration can seem overwhelming and stressful at times, but that’s why we’re here. Even better, we’ve included a sample profile of one of our Epic Willow-certified consultants so you know just what to expect when partnering with us:
Surety Senior Epic Willow Consultant
- 8 years of Epic experience
- 5 years of Willow Ambulatory experience
- Willow Implementation expert
- Responsible for Willow design, configuration/build, and go-live support
- Pharmacy Technician background
- Epic Willow Certification
Click here to access our company website for more information. Contact us today to get started with one of our Epic-certified consultants.
