Ambulatory Newsletter JULY 2026 New Tip Sheets: Wound Classification Blood Orders Procedure, Pre/Post Mobile Updates PACU vs. Pain Block Acuity Levels E-Consent Expiration Date & Med Rec Functions Paused Wellstar Health System OpTime/Anesthesia Newsletter October 2026 New link to Wellstar’s Sharepoint Website World Anesthesia Day October 16, 2026

The e-Consent expiration date has been temporarily removed from the e-Consent form. An issue was identified with the feature responsible for calculating the 30-day expiration date, resulting in incorrect expiration dates being displayed. Epic is currently researching and addressing the issue. Once the enhancement has been completed and thoroughly tested, the expiration date functionality will be reinstated . Until the fix is implemented, the expiration date field on the e-Consent will remain blank. Updated Expiration Date Field OpTime/Anesthesia October 2026 E-Consent E-Consent Expiration Date Paused Wellstar Health System

Ambulatory Med RecWhat: Due to issues affecting outside medication updates following the recent upgrade, the medication reconciliation functionality will be temporarily reverted to the pre-upgrade version. This rollback is intended to maintain a stable and reliable workflow while the issue is investigated, corrected, and validated. When: Start date: 10/6/26 The upgraded functionality will be restored after the fix has been successfully validated. Additional guidance will be communicated before the functionality is re- enabled. Who: This update applies only to outpatient Ambulatory staff who use medication reconciliation workflows to review or update outside medications. It does not apply system-wide or to inpatient workflows. Action Steps: 1.Continue using the available pre-upgrade medication reconciliation workflow. 2.Review and update outside medication information using the standard outpatient Ambulatory process. 3.No downtime is expected; however, the upgraded functionality will be temporarily unavailable. 4.Report any issues with reviewing or updating outside medications to the Wellstar IT Physician ServiceDesk. 5.Watch for additional communication regarding restoration of the upgraded functionality and any related workflow guidance. Who to Contact for Help or Additional Questions: For any issues with the outpatient Ambulatory medication reconciliation workflow, or any other IT issues, please call the Wellstar IT Physician ServiceDesk at 470 956-9393.

Acuity Levels: PACU vs. Nerve Block OpTime/Anesthesia October 2026 Acuity Levels Are nerve block acuity levels different from PACU acuity levels? Yes, pain block acuity levels are entirely different from PACU acuity levels. While both terms are used in perioperative nursing to determine staffing ratios and billing, they measure completely different clinical priorities and requires different criteria. Core Definitions PACU (Post-Anesthesia Care Unit) Acuity Levels: These track a patient’s overall physiological recovery from anesthesia. Staffing relies on scoring metrics like the Modified Aldrete Score to evaluate core functions such as consciousness, breathing, blood pressure, oxygen levels, and activity. Pain Block Acuity Levels (Regional Anesthesia/Acute Pain Service): These track the complexity, monitoring, and safety risks associated with regional nerve blocks or neuraxial infusions (e.g. epidurals, continuous nerve catheters). This metric evaluates things like dermatome levels, motor blockade, and toxic side effects of local anesthetics. Wellstar Health System

Acuity Levels: PACU vs. Nerve Block cont. Key Differences OpTime/Anesthesia October 2026 Acuity Levels Wellstar Health System

Acuity Levels: PACU vs. Nerve Block cont. How They Interact in Practice Even if a patient’s PACU acuity drops as they wake up and breathe normally, their pain block acuity could remain very high. For instance, a patient waking up from major thoracic surgery may be awake, alert, and breathing comfortably (lowering their PACU acuity to Level II or I). However, because they have an active thoracic epidural running a continuous local anesthetic infusion, their pain block acuity remains high-requiring frequent dermatome checks to prevent unexpected paralysis or toxic side effects. OpTime/Anesthesia October 2026 Acuity Levels Wellstar Health System

OpTime/Anesthesia October 2026OpTime/Anesthesia Tip Sheets Want to learn more? October tip sheets Enhance your perioperative and anesthesia workflows with this month's featured tip sheets. These quick-reference guides provide helpful reminders and step-by- step instructions to support accurate documentation and efficient patient care. Featured Tip Sheets: Wound Class for Intra-Op Procedures – Best practices for documenting wound classifications during procedures. Blood Orders – Intra-Op Nurse – Guidance for managing and documenting blood product orders in the OR. Postprocedure Handoff on Mobile - Anesthesia – Complete postprocedure handoffs conveniently from your mobile device. Preprocedure Details on Mobile – Anesthesia – Access and document important preprocedure information on the go. Wellstar Health System

OpTime/Anesthesia October 2026OpTime/Anesthesia Tip Sheets October tip sheets cont. Procedure Notes on Mobile – Anesthesia – Learn how to create and manage anesthesia procedure notes using mobile workflows. 📎 Be sure to review these tip sheets to take advantage of the latest tools and workflow efficiencies available to your team. Wellstar Health System

Finding Epic Education Just Got Easier OpTime/Anesthesia October 2026 Epic Education Epic Education is now available on a new SharePoint site: New Epic Education Site The updated site includes a refreshed user experience and our new Epic Tip Sheet Finder, designed to help you quickly locate Epic education materials without digging through multiple document libraries. Be sure to update your bookmarks so you’re ready for the move. Need help finding something or have a concern? Submit a ticket to the Epic Training team: Epic Training Team Request Wellstar Health System

Need Epic Access or Update? OpTime/Anesthesia October 2026 All requests for Epic access or updates must be approved by your direct manager. Requests or incidents submitted via ServiceNow for Epic access or updates will be forwarded to management for review and approval. Epic Access Wellstar Health System

OpTime/Anesthesia October 2026 Check out the Perioperative Communications Dashboard for a list of training logins and information. Click here to go to the Epic Connect Site for tip sheets and other education. Have you checked out the new Epic Education SharePoint site? Use the new search agent to quickly find the most up-to- date resources. Click here for the new site. Academic Affairs: gme.aa.cis@wellstar.org OpTime/Anesthesia CIS: inpatientcis@wellstar.org CIS Rounding with a Purpose Newsletter: Find it here. EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES: Check out the videos below for information about Epic time saving tips and efficiency: Click the image above for more info about the CyberStar Program Epic Elevate: Documentation in Epic Epic Elevate: In Basket If you’re interested in learning more about Epic and being a resource for your peers, visit the new Epic CyberStars Sharepoint on the Epic Education site or reach out to ambcis@wellstar.org for any questions. Click the image below to nominate someone for recognition in a future newsletter