Laura begins by describing her path into healthcare, explaining how her experience working with a neurologist inspired her to shift from medical school to becoming a nurse practitioner. While in nursing school, she also completed a graduate degree in social anthropology, which she says has enriched her perspective and career. She explains how she and her team came to work in Alaska, outlining the vast region their organization serves and the unique transportation and cost challenges that affect care delivery.

Laura discusses what it means to be an Alaska Native and part of the Indian Health Service, providing context for the population they serve. She shares her experience presenting at the MUSE Inspire conference, and explains how their organization reworked its referral process using MEDITECH Expanse. She emphasizes the importance of ensuring proper staffing and support before undertaking such large workflow changes. Looking ahead, Laura says they plan to focus on data optimization, building registries, enhancing Business and Clinical Analytics (BCA), and leveraging patient connect tools to improve care and efficiency.

Dr. Buley describes her journey into medicine, what brought her to Alaska, and how she transitioned into leadership. She explains her organization’s selection of MEDITECH Expanse to achieve a “one search, one practice” model that improves continuity of care. Currently in the early post–go-live phase, they are currently focused on governance.

She highlights how Expanse has enhanced their referral process as they add new specialties, and how AI scribe software is reducing after-hours charting. Dr. Buley also notes the integration of the PAC committee into the Medical Executive Committee to strengthen collaboration.

On the patient side, she emphasizes the importance of portal engagement, using QR codes during visits and on marketing materials to boost enrollment. Technology like Starlink is enabling improved access to care in rural areas. She also discusses the value of the MUSE community and conference, and concludes by sharing her appreciation for the arts scene in Juneau.

Eric, currently serving as chair-elect on the MUSE Board and a co-Chair of the MUSE Commercial Member Committee, shares updates on his organization’s recent initiatives since his last podcast appearance. He describes his career path from RN to CIO, emphasizing how involvement in EHR projects and collaborative meetings created opportunities for leadership. He attributes much of his success to the colleagues and teams around him. A major focus of the discussion is a nursing efficiency and satisfaction initiative driven by KLAS Arch Collaborative feedback. The effort included forming the “FUN TIME Committee” (Free Up Nursing Time), which reviewed documentation workflows and gathered over 150 suggestions from nursing staff. They uncovered significant documentation bloat – requirements no longer necessary or relevant – and implemented a structured change-control process to prevent overwhelming clinicians. The project delivered substantial results: 2.8 million clicks eliminated, 1,600 nursing documentation hours saved, and nursing satisfaction improved by 20 points on the KLAS scale. They leveraged MEDITECH enhancements, including improved handoff functionality, to streamline processes. Eric notes that not every request could be solved; the most important factor was ensuring nurses felt heard. He discusses who was involved, how organizational buy-in was secured, and how other groups might begin similar efforts. They close with a conversation about the upcoming MUSE Executive Institute.

Melanie introduces her organization, outlining her role, and sharing impressive statistics on their patient visits and service coverage area. The conversation shifts to the International Education Exchange (IEE) contest and a comparison between the MUN (MEDITECH Users Network) and MUSE Inspire conferences, highlighting similarities and differences.

She then discusses her recent award-winning IEE presentation, which focused on UK laws regarding patient rights and freedoms. Melanie explains how her team leveraged MEDITECH documentation to enhance compliance, improve patient safety, and boost staff confidence in meeting legal requirements.

Melanie is a repeat IEE winner – perhaps she’ll try for a third IEE title!

Dr. Harrigan begins by introducing her organization and her role, outlining current initiatives on the technical, EHR, and construction fronts. Clinically, she highlights ongoing work to integrate orders directly into provider documentation and explains the planned rollout for this new ordering functionality. We also hear about her facility’s virtual transcription initiatives.

She shares her personal journey into medicine and informatics, and then discusses her experience as a panelist on the Physician Summit at the recent MUSE Inspire Conference, emphasizing the value of exchanging knowledge within the MUSE community.

Plus, learn about Dr. Harrigan’s passion for cycling, including commuting to work year-round. It snows in Vermont!

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Mentioned in this episode:

LinkedIn - Deborah Harrigan

Home - Northeastern Vermont Regional Hospital

Trevor shares his career journey from pathology into IT, highlighting his strong team and culture at Wooster, details about the facility, and the current EMR environment. Regarding their robust downtime process, a key principle they follow is “Luck Favors the Prepared” – starting with early, frequent communication and close collaboration between IT and clinical teams to choose optimal downtime windows, with flexibility to adjust if needed. Transparency and meeting expectations are crucial for maintaining organizational engagement.

He describes a living downtime playbook that outlines steps before, during, and after downtime, continuously updated with system changes, lessons learned, and user feedback. Trevor notes how dependent users are on electronic systems today, making well-executed downtime processes essential, and acknowledges MUSE as a valuable resource for his team and organization.

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Mentioned in this episode:

PowerPoint Presentation

Wooster Community Hospital | Award-Winning Medical Care

LinkedIn - Trevor Clere

In this episode, Samantha shares her journey from bedside nursing to a leadership role in informatics, offering insight into her current team and organization. She reflects on her recent experience attending and presenting at the Inspire Conference regarding her innovative approach to team education.

She explains the motivation behind launching a “Back to Basics” initiative – focusing on foundational training to strengthen clinical and technical understanding among staff. Samantha introduces The HUB, a creative on-unit training method that delivers short, informal educational sessions directly to users in their workflow.

She also explores how her team is using social media as an unconventional but effective channel for staff education and engagement at Halton. Recognizing provider demand for more advanced training, Samantha shares plans to expand a successful internal “Masters” program – initially designed for providers – to include nursing staff as well. She emphasizes the importance of tracking progress through surveys and real-time feedback to ensure training methods remain relevant and effective.

The episode concludes with Samantha offering practical advice for organizations just beginning their informatics and education journey.

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Mentioned in this episode:

Halton Healthcare

Presentation from Inspire (Behind Paywall): https://www.museweb.org/2025inspireconference/viewdocument/pending-ai-115-monthly-informat?CommunityKey=ea7c37b8-cfa7-46bb-b3bf-0192e4125d10&tab=librarydocuments

Talk: The science of conversation and the art of being ourselves