Epic EHR Integration Streamlines Patient Access to Cancer Screenings

Epic Systems announced that it has formed a partnership with precision oncology company Guardant Health to support an Epic EHR integration to enhance patient access to cancer screening.

The Guardant Health oncology platform leverages capabilities to drive commercial adoption, improve patient clinical outcomes, and lower healthcare costs across all stages of the cancer care continuum.

The EHR integration will allow clinicians to order Guardant Health Center tests electronically within Epic, which the companies said should improve clinical workflow. More than 250 million patients with a record in Epic will now have access to cancer screenings through this new partnership.

"This partnership will allow us to provide a best-in-class customer experience for healthcare providers to easily order Guardant Health tests and access results quickly, giving them more time to focus on their patients," Helmy Eltoukhy, Guardant Health co-CEO, said in the press release.

Health systems, community healthcare providers, and retail health clinics will be able to incorporate Guardant Health blood tests directly into routine clinical care, offering immediate result delivery.

"The integration of our tests with Epic, which will include Guardant SHIELD, our blood test to screen for early signs of colorectal cancer, will help to increase the scale and adoption of our offerings in both community practices and large health systems," Eltoukhy added.

Flagship tests such as Guardant Reveal will help clinicians detect residual and recurrent disease in patients with early-stage cancer. Further, Guardant Health said it offers a comprehensive set of cancer tests that aim to support clinical decision-making for patients with advanced cancer.

Test results and patient health information will be housed in one single and secure place, which Guardant Health and Epic said creates easier access to patient records so that healthcare providers can make informed treatment decisions.

“Our shared commitment to healthcare innovation makes this partnership a natural fit that will benefit clinicians and patients alike," said Alan Hutchison, vice president of population health at Epic. "Guardant Health’s integration with Epic will provide an easier and more efficient workflow for clinicians to order cancer tests and access real-time results, giving providers the information they need to make the best care decision for their patients."

In 2021, Epic partnered with health IT vendor Foundation Medicine to integrate comprehensive genomic profiling into Epic’s EMR to support precision medicine pathways.

The integration aimed to support oncology practices, academic medical centers, and other health systems by streamlining access to clinical and genomic data for enhanced clinical decision support.

Foundation Medicine and Epic predicted that, with the integration finalized, all providers who use the most updated version of Epic would be able to electronically order Foundation Medicine tests within the EHR system.

The pair also said the provider would gain access to precision medicine through the partnership while also reducing annual data entry to accelerate the delivery of actionable data insights.