EHR Overview: New Customers for Epic and Oracle
Hospitals and healthcare systems large and small announced new plans in September for implementing their electronic health records. Two of the larger ones have chosen to migrate to Epic Systems, while Oracle Health has acquired two new critical access hospitals.
‘Platform of your choice’
Delaware-based ChristianaCare recently posted vacancy for a vice president of Electronic Health Record Transformation who would be “responsible for the successful implementation and maintenance of our EHR and revenue cycle system initiative using Epic software.”
The health care system was a long-time Cerner customer, but a ChristianaCare spokesperson confirmed it will switch to Epic in the next two years.
“As we continually strive to improve the provider and patient experience to deliver the best possible care to the communities we serve, the electronic health record is becoming increasingly important to nearly everything we do,” they said.
“As we look to the future and the tools and technology that will position us to be most successful in delivering innovative, high-quality, affordable, accessible and equitable care to the communities we serve, ChristianaCare has made the decision to to switch from Cerner to Epic EPD as the preferred platform for all our care locations. This will be a multi-year implementation project with an expected go-live in early autumn 2026.”
‘Efficiency of costs’
So does another Cerner customer, Birmingham, Alabama-based UAB Health System announced the past week that it is migrating platforms.
UAB’s board on September 25 approved plans to move to Epic, whose market share has been growing, for electronic health records, revenue cycle and clinical research.
“This decision was made after extensive review and will enable efficiencies in cost, scale and operations that benefit patients and employees,” UAB Health System CEO Dawn Bulgarella said in a statement.
The health system said implementation of the platform and staff training should be completed in less than two and a half years, with $380 million approved for the project.
‘Beyond the EPD’
For its part, Oracle Health recently announced a number of new customers, with a pair of critical access hospitals selecting their CommunityWorks EHR for their clinical, financial and operational needs.
Shoshone Medical Center in Idaho, a 25-bed hospital, will use CommunityWorks to help combine and organize patient and financial data and improve the care experience, the company says. And Arkansas-based Eureka Springs Hospital, a seven-bed Rural Health Emergency Hospital, says the new unified EHR will improve care coordination and increase patient safety.
“The momentum we’ve seen in hospitals choosing CommunityWorks is a testament to Oracle Health’s ability to solve today’s critical business and healthcare challenges for customers of all sizes,” said Seema Verma, CEO of Oracle Health and Life Sciences in a statement.
“Whether a physician or nurse provides emergency care in a rural community or focuses on specialty care such as cardiac, rehabilitation or outpatient surgery, Oracle delivers technology that helps reduce operational complexity and makes it easier to deliver care.”