This story originally appeared on The Loop.
Kshitij Thakur, MD, assistant professor in the division of digestive diseases and nutrition was recently named a member of the Epic Specialty Steering Boards (SSBs). These influential roles position clinicians like Dr. Thakur to help shape the development and functionality of the Epic Electronic Health Record (EHR) system for specialized care across the national Epic community.
The Epic SSBs comprise clinicians from diverse disciplines who bring expert knowledge and hands-on clinical experience to guide ongoing improvements in Epic software. These boards work collaboratively with Epic leadership and fellow clinicians to recommend workflow enhancements, provide feedback on development roadmaps, and share best practices for optimizing Epic’s use in everyday specialty care.
“Epic is the backbone of how we deliver care at UK,” said Dr. Thakur. “By serving on the Specialty Steering Board, I can help ensure the system reflects the realities of clinical practice, making it more efficient for providers, safer for patients and better aligned with the needs of Kentucky communities. This role also gives me the opportunity to learn from other members who are leveraging Epic to strengthen their own health systems, so together we can build a stronger digital foundation for care across the Commonwealth.”
As part of his responsibilities, Dr. Thakur will engage deeply with UK HealthCare project managers, analysts, and relevant design committees. This ensures that the insights and recommendations from the SSBs align closely with UK HealthCare’s strategic goals and IT priorities, driving meaningful improvements in patient care technology.
Also named to an Epic Specialty Steering Board is Emily Winfrey, DMD, associate dean for Academic and Student Affairs for the UK College of Dentistry. Dr. Winfrey has been elected to three terms on the Wisdom Specialty Steering Board, the group responsible for shaping Epic’s dental EHR solution, Wisdom.
“I was originally drawn to participate when I learned about the boards during our implementation of Epic. Wisdom, at that time, was new and underdeveloped when compared to Epic's more robust applications, particularly in large academic dental institutions,” said Dr. Winfrey. “Though we could see the immense potential of a system integrated with our medical colleagues, there was much development needed to make Wisdom comparable to other dental EHRs. Through participation on the SSBs, I've been given a means to advocate for the improvements, developments and features that will have the greatest impact every day in our clinics.”
“From projects as small as adding a single button to save excessive scrolling to helping test advanced AI-assisted odontogram features, the SSBs help Epic developers know what users of the software really need to treat patients better,” she added. “It is most rewarding to see a project, or an idea proposed by my colleagues in the College of Dentistry move through the development process, and then to see their delight when it appears in an upgrade!”
We look forward to the impact Dr. Thakur and Dr. Winfrey will make as active members of the Epic SSBs, helping shape the future of specialty care delivery through enhanced Epic systems.