UVM Health Epic EHR Implementation Takes Aim at Care Coordination

The University of Vermont Health Network has successfully completed the second phase of its Epic EHR implementation, which aims to enhance care coordination, according to reporting from Vermont Business Magazine.

Central Vermont Medical Center (CVMC) in Berlin, VT, Porter Medical Center (PMC), and Helen Porter Rehabilitation and Nursing, both in Middlebury, VT, have been using Epic for their outpatient practices since the first phase install in November 2019.

Launched on November 6, the second phase of the implementation added surgical services, rehabilitation, inpatient hospital, and emergency department visits into the EHR system.

With this expansion, the EHR implementation is complete at PMC and nearly complete at CVMC, which will move its skilled nursing care facility, Woodridge Rehabilitation and Nursing, to the system at a later date.

The EHR implementation is expected to enhance care coordination by ensuring up-to-date access to patient health information across the Network.

The implementation is also expected to enhance patient engagement by granting CVMC and PMC patients access to inpatient and outpatient medical and billing information in MyChart, Epic’s online patient portal.

“A unified electronic health record system is one of the highest-value things we can do for the people we serve, and it is an important part of our Network-wide plan to improve patient access and decrease wait times,” John R. Brumsted, MD, president and chief executive officer of the UVM Health Network said in a press release.

“Epic allows patients to more easily navigate the health care system, and it gives our providers instant access to updated medical information so they can offer the most informed care,” he continued. “I am grateful to everyone who is working so hard to bring this essential tool to patients and providers across our health system.”

The system replaces a patchwork of health IT applications that are not fully integrated, both within and between hospitals in the UVM network. Hospitals within the network previously used multiple legacy EHR systems to manage patient records, which hindered patient data exchange and caused disruptions for patients and providers.

Hundreds of employees have spent months training to use the new system. Network officials said that they expect staff to adjust to working in the new system over the next several weeks.

“This is a major advancement for our patients as they will experience more seamless care between hospitals, primary care providers, and specialists with the implementation of Epic. All of the providers they see will have ready access to their medical records,” said Tom Thompson, president and COO of PMC.

“This implementation is another indication of how the UVM Health Network is improving care for patients throughout the Network,” Thompson added.

The State of Vermont approved the multi-year project in 2018 and then again in 2020 to include implementation of the system at Alice Hyde Medical Center and Elizabethtown Community Hospital.

The first phase of the project in November 2019 included full implementation of Epic at the University of Vermont Medical Center, and partial implementation at CVMC, PMC, and Champlain Valley Physicians Hospital (CVPH).

UVM Health Network will implement the system at the following affiliate organizations in April 2022: Alice Hyde Medical Center in Malone, NY; Elizabethtown Community Hospital in Elizabethtown, NY; and CVPH in Plattsburgh, NY.