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Epic EHR Implementation Projects Look to Boost Patient Experience

Healthcare organizations in Minnesota, Missouri, and Nebraska have recently announced Epic EHR implementation projects aimed at improving patient experience.

Hannah Nelson
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Published: 21 Dec 2023

Riverwood Healthcare Center in Minnesota will begin an Epic EHR implementation in January 2024 to drive the patient experience and streamline internal processes.

The EHR implementation will give patients access to MyChart, a patient portal for scheduling appointments, accessing health records, managing personal information, and more. The MyChart portal will also offer Riverwood patients integrated bill-paying services, such as paying for deductibles or setting up a payment plan for medical bills.

Additionally, the implementation will allow patients to skip the front desk check-in process and use e-check-in if desired.

“With the electronic health record transition, we are creating a digital front door experience that will give our patients more ownership over their care while adding convenience and time-saving features,” Ken Westman, CEO of Riverwood, said in a press release.

“Internally, this conversion gives Riverwood more autonomy and flexibility to adjust and streamline workflows and processes of care, all designed for personalization of the system to best fit our patients’ needs,” Westman added.

Health System Selects Epic EHR to Drive HIE Interoperability

Missouri-based CoxHealth is implementing an enterprise Epic EHR to unify workflows and streamline health information exchange (HIE) across the health system.

The EHR deployment aims to improve the patient experience through the MyChart patient portal.

“The move to Epic represents a monumental step forward for CoxHealth,” Patrick Murfee, CoxHealth’s chief technology officer, said in a public statement. “This decision signifies our unwavering dedication to delivering the highest standard of care while embracing technology to enhance patient outcomes.”

CoxHealth leaders decided to transition to Epic after a thorough selection process, which included participation from hundreds of providers and staff members.

“A key part of our organizational strategic plan is enhancing our overall consumer experience,” said Amanda Hedgpeth, chief operating officer of CoxHealth. “Patients are at the center of our healthcare model, and Epic EHR empowers them with increased access to their health information.”

The patient portal integrates patients’ health information at CoxHealth with their records at other healthcare organizations across the country, allowing patients access to all their health data and records in one place.

CoxHealth expects the enterprise EHR implementation to be complete by early 2026.

Critical Access Hospital Deploys Epic EHR Platform

A critical access hospital in Nebraska has implemented an Epic EHR system to improve clinical workflows, according to reporting from The Sidney Sun-Telegraph.

Sidney Regional Medical Center (SRMC) worked with a team of software experts and representatives from UCHealth in Colorado and Epic to deploy the EHR system on December 14 and 15.

The EHR implementation is set to enhance patient care quality by providing a single, comprehensive medical record for clinical decision support and care coordination.

SRMC providers will have access to the new software at the hospital and its associated long-term care center.

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