Inbox Management Tips

General requirements:                           

Residents are expected to check their electronic and paper in-baskets and respond to items in a timely manner (2-3 business days) at all times. 

If you are not available to check your paper in-basket (ICU, rural etc), please designate another resident to cover your paper in-basket for you. If you are on vacation, please designate another resident to cover both your electronic and paper in-baskets while you are away.

Upon obtaining coverage by a fellow coworker, it is recommended that you notify your MA team (both in person and by placing a note in your paper in-basket) as well as medical director of clinic so that any issues that may arise can be quickly sorted out on who is covering.

What to do if you have questions:

1.     For questions on which you don’t think you need assistance from an attending, but might have a question about management:

• In the interest of not delaying patient care, it’s usually okay to try something even if you aren’t completely sure of the answer (i.e. if unsure about a med refill, it’s okay to make a decision about the refill and then send an in basket message to an attending to get their opinion or catch an attending the next time you’re in clinic to get their opinion).

2.     For questions on which you need assistance from an attending:

• Non-urgent needs (most refills, non-critical results, non-urgent patient communications):

  • If related to patient staffed with attending in clinic, send in basket staff message to attending with whom patient was staffed in clinic

  • If question unrelated to a patient staffed in clinic, send in basket staff message to faculty advisor

• Urgent needs (or if uncertain regarding urgency):

  • If during office hours (8 am to 5 pm), call bullpen (303-318-2531) to speak with clinic attending for assistance

  • If after hours, call the on call attending (listed in amion) for assistance

How to cover someone’s Epic in-basket:

1.     Open your own in-basket

2.     Look for the button along the top row labeled “Attach in-Basket”

3.     In the top field, enter the last name of the resident you are covering, then click Accept

4.     When you close this screen, below your own in-basket you will see a section called “Attached In-Baskets” – this is where the other resident’s in-basket will show up, and you can click back and forth to your own in-basket.

5.     When the other resident no longer needs coverage, simply repeat the steps but delete their name from the list where you typed it in initially.

Helpful phone numbers:

• Bullpen: 303-318-2531

• Midtown lab: 303-318-3280 (6-3280)

• Radiology/X-Ray: 303-812-6767 (8-6767)

Updated February 2024