Note: (This was originally posted on Twitter September 2022 - I will be adding these tweet threads to substack so they are here for reference)
How it all began
I probably use the EPIC pasteboard function dozens of times each clinic day.
Itβs my go-to secret sauce for precharting.
If I ever have a medical student or resident in my clinic, I teach them. I tell colleagues. I am amazed to find nearly nobody knows about it before I spill the beans.
Maybe you found out about it in your training? I certainly didnβt.
What is the pasteboard?
In simple terms, itβs copy/paste. Hereβs how I introduced it. Itβs a simple but powerful productivity hack.
So itβs copy/paste?
Well, itβs supercharged copy/paste. We can get into a separate debate as to whether copy/paste is good or evil. A recent JAMA article elegantly examined the hazards of poorly executed copy/paste here.
Itβs supercharged copy/paste, because it has a 10-entry memory. And by the way - pro tip - that memory is forever.
Log into that same patientβs chart in a year, and your pasteboard will still be there (others canβt see it).
Breadcrumbs
Pick up the crumbs, and dump them into your note.
What are some other examples of great pasteboard fodder?
Any radiology report (just the necessary stuff)
Pathology reports - grab the TNM stage and grade, leave all the fluff behind
A colleagueβs consult note - just the date, their name, and pithy parts of their plan.
A singular result, that wonβt auto-pull using smart links (a urology example is stone composition from a stone analysis, for instance)
How do you drop the breadcrumbs?
Youβll notice that after you hit βCtrl+Eβ to pick up something youβve highlighted, when you get to your note, the pasteboard is gone.
The key is to hit βCtrl+Eβ again when your cursor is in blank space in your note.
Voila! The pasteboard reappears.
How do you use the EPIC pasteboard in your workflow?
Alternatively, do you hate the idea?
Let me know. I read every single comment.