EHR Optimisation and Benefits Lead

Job overview

This role is part of the adoption, optimisation and realisation of benefits function in the Digital Transformation and Improvement Directorate.

The RNOH EHR Optimisation and Benefits Lead is responsible for overseeing a team focused on optimising Epic workflows and realising the benefits associated with the adoption of the electronic health record. The postholder ensures that the team works across the organisation to identify adoption challenges and implement optimisations within Epic, leading service-level initiatives in close collaboration with the RNOH CXIOs, IO team, Improvement team, and UCLH Training and Build teams to deliver effective solutions.

In addition, the postholder is responsible for monitoring the expected benefits from the EHR, diagnoses any barriers to delivery, and escalating issues appropriately through Trust governance structures and directly to senior leaders.

This role requires close partnership with our host organisation, UCLH, and demands the development of strong working relationships across both organisations. Serving as a bridge between the two, the postholder must demonstrate excellent interpersonal, teamworking, and negotiation skills.

Main duties of the job

Oversee their team’s adoption projects, advising on those that will deliver the best outcomes for the organisation in line with the RNOH strategy.

Work to deliver clinical best practice standards, advise on and then lead the future workflows and system optimisation work for Epic.

Be responsible for the EHR benefit identification that will support the organisation’s Transformation Programmes.

This post manages the Patient Portal delivery team and the User Experience Lead and is fundamental to the experience our staff and our patients have with our electronic health record.

The duties and responsibilities listed are representative of the role and its purpose within the service; they are not exhaustive and the post holder may be required to undertake additional or alternative administrative or managerial duties and responsibilities commensurate with the level of the post.

The post holder will be responsible for leading multi-stranded projects, versed in change management and be adept at long term strategic planning. The ability to influence and network without formal authority will be essential to the role as will be ability to apply strategic and tactical thinking.

The post holder will hold significant autonomy within their role and be able to work independently.  Where appropriate, the post holder will deputise for the Director of Transformation and Improvement, the Head of Programmes or other key members of the team.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

Service Delivery

• Ensure delivery of an excellent patient and staff experience of our EHR
• Lead the EHR optimisation work
• Engage colleagues across the organisation, clinical and non-clinical at all levels, in the delivery of an optimised EHR
• Lead the benefits monitoring and delivery for EHR
• Support the RNOH Transformation Programme and RNOH strategy delivery
• Embed continuous quality improvement in the work of your team
• Identify opportunities for improvement across your portfolio of work
• Work with colleagues for example from UCLH and other relevant organisations to identify opportunities to develop improved patient pathways and supporting infrastructure.
• Represent excellence and high expectations in the way we deliver our work
• Deputise for the Head of Programmes, CXIO team or the Director as appropriate
• Contribute to national EHR forums, eg the UK Epic Benefits Meetup and European Forum.

Performance Management

• Manage the team’s work (day to day and programme of work coordination, project management, allocation of resource)
• Design and deliver appropriate reports to demonstrate delivery and identify areas for improvement for multiple audiences including frontline teams and executives.
• Design and deliver appropriate reports to demonstrate delivery and identify areas for improvement for multiple audiences including frontline teams and executives.
• Monitor Trust Key Performance Indicator levels relevant to areas of responsibility. Identify and implement improvement plans to address variance and achieve performance against targets and other imperatives impacting on the Trust.
• Ensure that operational efficiency indicators, including Model Hospital and other benchmarking tools, are deployed to measure and develop plans for the effective and efficient use of Trust resources.

Communication

• Communicate clearly and effectively with staff to ensure they are kept up to date with Trust strategy and updates. Communicate wide-ranging time sensitive and complex information to a broad range of both internal and external audiences in situations that may on occasions be emotive or stressful.
• On occasion support the communication of potentially difficult or sensitive information to large groups of staff e.g. briefing whole groups of staff on issues such as potential service changes and handle this confidently, sensitively and calmly.

Staff Management, Leadership and Management

• Have a clear organisational structure, establishing clarity of roles, responsibilities, and accountabilities and ensure that accountability is understood by all staff.
• Manage timely and effective recruitment and retention of staff in conjunction with the Human Resources department.
• Ensure appraisals are carried out for all staff and training needs are identified with resources.
• Manage mandatory training levels and ensure that all staff managed records are kept up to date.
• Be accountable for managing absence rates for the team.
• Ensure optimal use of staffing resources and review workforce requirements as required.
• Ensure staff are aware of and implement Trust policies and procedures and establish and implement local guidelines, policies and procedures as appropriate.
• Ensure that the Trust's policies on conduct and performance are adhered to and communicated effectively to all staff.
• Ensure that all staff are working to maintain a healthy and safe working environment.
• As required, lead on investigations within own service(s) and support Human Resources to provide independent investigations into complex Human Resource matters in other areas within the Trust. This may include, with support, responsibility up to and including terminating a staff member’s contract.
• Support the implementation of the staff survey action plan working with HR, to raise the profile of the staff survey throughout your teams to ensure compliance with national targets and genuine improvements in working lives based on local evidence.

Excellent Experience for our patients, staff and referrers

• Promote Trust values, ensuring that the workplace culture is patient-centred, involves service users, responds positively to feedback from user groups and promotes teamwork across services.
• Ensure all staff groups are involved in the development and implementation of the EHR and associated Transformation programmes and other planned changes.
• Ensure that changes to services are fully communicated both within the organisation with staff and patients and with external partners.
• Support the development of groups focusing on patient experience.
• Respond to patient feedback ensuring positive feedback is rewarded and areas for improvement are identified.

Business Planning and Management

• Develop, produce and present business plans for the development of services as required.
• Ensure all business planning, new service development and investment is underpinned by detailed demand and capacity planning including assumptions, risks and benefits.
• Participate in the programme to develop a strategic plan and objectives for the services managed.
• Undertake service review and development as required.  This will involve process mapping/review, patient and staff involvement in re-engineering, change in practice, skill-mix review, changes in roles and responsibilities.

Financial Budgetary Management

• Lead the identification, tracking and realisation of optimisation benefits, developing robust financial models and baselines to quantify cash-releasing and non-cash-releasing savings across the EHR programme.
• Manage significant programme budgets and resources, ensuring effective financial planning, forecasting, and value-for-money delivery in line with Trust Standing Financial Instructions and NHS governance.
• Establish and oversee benefits realisation governance, assuring accurate reporting of financial benefits, risks and variances to Executive Boards, ICS partners and national bodies, and driving corrective action where neede
• Hold delegated accountability for multi-year programme budgets, delivering financial performance against plan and ensuring compliance with Trust Standing Financial Instructions, audit requirements and NHS governance.
• Lead the development and management of annual and medium-term financial plans, setting realistic budgets aligned to strategic priorities, optimising resource allocation, and proactively managing cost pressures, risks and opportunities.
• Direct complex financial, activity and workforce modelling to inform EHR optimisation and investment decisions, ensuring robust assumptions, sensitivity analysis and value-for-money outcomes.

Information Management

• Provide strategic leadership for information management across RNOH–UCLH EHR optimisation, setting standards for data quality, governance and reporting, and ensuring information is accurate, timely and aligned to organisational and ICS priorities.
• Act as Information Asset Owner for designated datasets and systems, ensuring compliance with NHS IG, UK GDPR and Trust policies, managing risk, approving access, and assuring appropriate use and security of information assets.
• Direct the design and delivery of advanced analytics and performance reporting, working with BI and clinical informatics teams to produce insight-driven dashboards and intelligence that support executive decision-making, benefits realisation and service improvement.
• Champion data quality and information maturity across services, embedding robust data standards, audit processes and staff capability development to maximise the value of EHR data for clinical, operational and financial outcomes.

Quality/Governance corporate and clinical, patient feedback

• Ensure that all staff work within the corporate and clinical governance frameworks of the Trust, including Trust Policies and Procedures.
• Assist with rigorously monitoring and maintaining compliance with relevant CQC standards working with all staff to ensure that they act within requirements and that learning is taken from any shortfalls.
• Contribute to achievement of incentivising quality targets relevant to the services managed.
• In partnership with the quality, risk and governance team investigate, plan and implement responses to incidences and complaints.

Quality/Governance corporate and clinical, patient feedback

• Ensure that all staff work within the corporate and clinical governance frameworks of the Trust, including Trust Policies and Procedures.
• Assist with rigorously monitoring and maintaining compliance with relevant CQC standards working with all staff to ensure that they act within requirements and that learning is taken from any shortfalls.
• Contribute to achievement of incentivising quality targets relevant to the services managed.
• In partnership with the quality, risk and governance team investigate, plan and implement responses to incidences and complaints.