Epic is a term frequently encountered in modern healthcare, representing the technological platform that underpins the operations of many large health systems. It is a complex software system that functions as the central digital infrastructure of a hospital or clinic. Epic has become the dominant vendor for the software that stores, manages, and exchanges patient health information across the United States. Its systems manage everything from a patient’s initial appointment scheduling to their final bill, creating a highly integrated experience for both patients and providers.
Defining Epic Systems and Electronic Health Records
Epic Systems Corporation is a privately held American company based in Verona, Wisconsin, which develops and sells electronic health record (EHR) software. Founded in 1979 by Judith Faulkner, the company has grown to be the largest vendor in the U.S. acute care EHR market. Epic’s software platform is central to the operations of major academic medical centers and large integrated health networks across the country.
The core product is the Electronic Health Record (EHR), a digital version of a patient’s comprehensive medical chart. Unlike an electronic medical record (EMR), which focuses on data from a single practice, the EHR is designed to be shared across different healthcare settings. Epic’s system centralizes patient data, including demographics, medical history, diagnoses, medications, lab results, and imaging reports.
This centralized data management provides a single source of truth for a patient’s medical journey. The software is built upon a proprietary database management system designed for real-time data entry and analytic reporting. This architecture allows clinicians to access complete and up-to-date patient information instantly, which is fundamental to coordinated care.
Epic’s software is a suite of modules, each tailored for specific departments or workflows like surgery, oncology, or radiology. Due to its widespread adoption, over 305 million patients in the United States have an electronic record managed by Epic’s software.
Core Clinical Functions and Provider Workflow
For doctors, nurses, and other specialists, the Epic system provides the digital environment for nearly all daily clinical tasks. The software acts as a unified workspace, replacing multiple paper-based processes with integrated digital workflows. This integration allows providers to move seamlessly between documenting a patient encounter and ordering necessary treatments or tests.
Computerized Physician Order Entry (CPOE) allows clinicians to directly enter orders for medications, laboratory tests, and imaging studies into the patient’s record. This digital ordering process reduces the risk of errors associated with handwritten prescriptions or verbal orders, thereby improving patient safety. The system also includes modules dedicated to specific care settings, such as ASAP for the emergency department or OpTime for surgical services.
The system is equipped with clinical decision support tools that generate automated alerts and reminders based on the patient’s data. If a provider attempts to order a medication to which the patient is allergic, the system immediately flags the potential interaction. These automated checks prevent adverse events and improve patient safety.
Documentation, or “charting,” is a central activity managed by the system, allowing nurses and physicians to record patient assessments, progress notes, and vital signs in real-time. This data availability supports better communication among the interdisciplinary care team. The scheduling module, Cadence, manages appointments and resource allocation across the health system, optimizing patient flow and minimizing wait times.
The Patient Experience: Understanding MyChart
The general public interacts with the Epic ecosystem through MyChart, a patient portal application. MyChart serves as a secure, online gateway for patients to access and manage their personal health information. This portal gives patients greater control and transparency over their medical data.
Patients use MyChart to view their test results and laboratory reports as soon as they are finalized. The platform also facilitates appointment management, allowing users to schedule, cancel, or reschedule visits online. Secure messaging is another feature, enabling patients to communicate non-urgent health questions directly to their care team.
MyChart also integrates administrative functions, such as viewing health summaries and paying medical bills. Users can request prescription refills to be sent directly to their preferred pharmacy, streamlining the medication management process. The portal consolidates medical records, billing, and communication into one application, making it a central tool for managing care.
Market Dominance and Interoperability
Epic holds a substantial market share in the United States, particularly among large hospitals, academic medical centers, and integrated delivery networks. The company commands a large percentage of the acute care EHR market, covering more than half of all multispecialty hospital beds in the country. This widespread adoption means that when a patient moves between major health systems, they are often using the same foundational software.
Interoperability, the ability of different information systems to communicate and exchange data, is addressed by Epic through its Care Everywhere network. This feature allows patient records to be securely exchanged between healthcare organizations, even those in different states. Care Everywhere facilitates the transfer of clinical documents and patient summaries between Epic users for treatment purposes.
This data exchange is not limited to other Epic clients, as the system is designed to communicate with non-Epic EHRs using established industry standards. This ensures that a patient’s health history can follow them for both planned referrals and emergency visits. The ability to share comprehensive patient data across organizational boundaries is fundamental to improving care coordination and reducing duplicate testing.