190 Health Systems Launch Epic This Fall -- The Largest Go-Live Period Ever

Changes in healthcare during the COVID-19 pandemic make having the right technology critical

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Oct 29, 2020, 07:47 ET

VERONA, Wis., Oct. 29, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- This fall will be the busiest install season in Epic's 41+ year history, with health systems in nine countries and many states slated to go live before a second wave of COVID-19 is expected over the winter. During the first wave of the pandemic, many health systems reported that integrated, longitudinal electronic health records were essential in delivering effective care.

"We would have been dead in the water without Epic's software," said Evan Jackson, Chief Information Officer of Middlesex Health, a Connecticut organization that launched Epic in February. "We had to shift quickly to virtual services, connect with our patients online, predict hospitalization risk, and track infection and recovery stats at a granular level. As we did our planning, it was a relief to know that the technology was already in place."

Organizations in Australia, Belgium, Canada, Finland, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, and the United States are transitioning more than 123,000 doctors, nurses, and support staff to Epic between September and the end of the year.

"We knew that late fall might bring a resurgence of COVID-19 in New York, on top of flu season, so we moved up our plans to bring the software live at three hospitals in the NewYork-Presbyterian system and at Weill Cornell Medicine. We trained 16,000 users virtually, connected to Epic's command center in Wisconsin, and had regular video check-ins with key user groups," said Daniel Barchi, group senior vice president and chief information officer of NewYork-Presbyterian, a member of the New York Consortium, which includes Weill Cornell Medicine and ColumbiaDoctors. "With a very successful go-live behind us, our clinicians are in the best position to respond to whatever challenges this winter brings."

SOURCE Epic