Baptist Health Doubles Meds-to-Beds Capture by Switching Epic Default
Baptist Health, an eight-hospital system based in Louisville, Ky., raised its Meds to Beds bedside prescription delivery capture rate from 30-40% to 70% by standardizing workflows across facilities, then switched enrollment in Epic from opt-in to opt-out this year, now enrolling every eligible patient unless they decline. Former system pharmacy director Shweta Desai, PharmD, led the effort, moving enrollment ownership entirely to community pharmacy teams to reduce burden on nurses and clinical pharmacists, and built standardized workflows including calling patients before filling prescriptions to confirm costs and avoid reversed fills. The phased opt-out rollout is now complete systemwide, with a target capture rate near 90%; payment collection before delivery remains the main bottleneck, which Epic is reportedly working to address. Epic told Desai roughly 50 health systems have made this switch, and Baptist Health is live on every unit at every hospital, ranking among the top five by volume.