In the Latest COVID-19 Surge, Health Record Exchanges Through Epic's Care Everywhere Reach 221 Million in a Month

Patients are redirected to other facilities as the nation's hospitals exceed capacity, and their health records go with them

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Epic

Dec 08, 2020, 07:10 ET

VERONA, Wis., Dec. 8, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- As COVID-19 pushes hospitals to capacity, sharing patient records between health systems is increasingly important to the continuity of patient care. The latest data collected shows that health systems using Care Everywhere, Epic's interoperability platform, shared more than 221 million patient records in a one-month period—an increase of nearly 40% from the same period a year earlier.

Health record exchanges through Care Everywhere dipped in March and April as routine and elective care was postponed. As operations resumed and COVID-19 cases surged, exchanges have increased to over 221 million in a month.

"When our hospitals began to fill up with COVID patients, we had to move patients among facilities to make the best use of our available capabilities and in some cases receive patients from other facilities as well," said David Reis, Chief Information Officer, previously at Hackensack Meridian Health in Edison, New Jersey. "Care Everywhere allowed health systems in New York and New Jersey to share common patient information seamlessly and in real time to improve the care provided not just to patients with COVID-19, but to all patients."

Patients' critical health information—including medications, problem history, allergies, and infections—informs how providers care for them, ensuring that they receive personalized care even when treated at a different organization. Today, half of the records exchanged through Care Everywhere are shared between health systems that use Epic and those that use a different interoperable EHR.

"Interoperability will continue to be critical to the pandemic response as vaccines become available," said Dave Fuhrmann, Senior Vice President of Interoperability at Epic. "When patients receive care at multiple locations, their providers at each location will know whether they need a dose of a particular vaccine. Patients can download their vaccination information whenever they need it."

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SOURCE Epic