2026 Early Hearing Detection & Intervention Conference
March 15-17, 2026 • Jacksonville, FL
| Harnessing EPIC to Streamline Newborn Hearing Screening Follow-Up
Harnessing EPIC to Streamline Newborn Hearing Screening Follow-Up
Harnessing EPIC to Streamline Newborn Hearing Screening Follow-up
Track: EHDI Program Enhancement
Author: Ashleigh Lewkowitz, AuD
Affiliation: Boston Children’s Hospital, Boston, MA
Timely identification and intervention for infants with hearing loss are critical for supporting optimal language and developmental outcomes. The Joint Committee on Infant Hearing (JCIH) recommends that programs currently meeting the 1-3-6 benchmarks—newborn hearing screening by 1 month, audiologic diagnosis by 3 months, and enrollment in early intervention by 6 months—strive to advance toward a more ambitious 1-2-3 month timeline. At our large pediatric hospital, we evaluated how leveraging tools within the EPIC electronic medical record system can improve the accuracy and efficiency of triaging infants who either do not pass the newborn hearing screening or who have known risk factors for childhood hearing loss. By refining scheduling decision trees, automating waitlist management and family self-scheduling options, and establishing close waitlist oversight by a dedicated pediatric audiologist, we have improved wait times and scheduling precision to maximize adherence to JCIH benchmarks. The process continues to evolve with new scheduling challenges regularly identified which necessitate ongoing refinement. Our experience demonstrates that strategic implementation of readily available electronic medical record technology can streamline the NBHS follow-up process, benefitting the families we serve by providing timely care and the hospital itself by improving resource utilization.
Key words: NBHS, scheduling, clinic management
Contact Information:
Ashleigh Lewkowitz, AuD
ashleigh.lewkowitz@childrens.harvard.edu
- Identify tools within EPIC to improve adherence to 1-3-6 in a large pediatric hospital
- Identify challenges that persist
- List strategies to maximize access to timely NBHS follow up
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Presenters/Authors
Ashleigh Lewkowitz
(Primary Presenter,Author), Boston Children's Hospital, ashleigh.lewkowitz@childrens.harvard.edu;
Ashleigh Lewkowitz, AuD, has been working with children with hearing loss and their families for 18 years. She is a member of the Boston Children's Hospital cochlear implant team and is board certified in both pediatric audiology and cochlear implants by the American Board of Audiology.
ASHA DISCLOSURE:
Financial -
• Receives Salary for Employment from Boston Children's Hospital.
Nonfinancial -
No relevant nonfinancial relationship exists.
AAA DISCLOSURE:
Financial -
Financial relationship with Boston Children's Hospital.
Nature: salaried employee.
Nonfinancial -
No relevant nonfinancial relationship exists.