Hospitals and health systems large and small announced new plans for their electronic health record deployments in September. Two of the bigger ones have opted to migrate to Epic Systems, while Oracle Health has won two new critical access hospitals.

'Platform of choice'

Delaware-based ChristianaCare recently posted a job listing for a vice president of electronic health record transformation who would be "responsible for the successful implementation and maintenance of our EHR and revenue cycle system initiative using Epic software."

The health system had long been a Cerner client, but a spokesperson for ChristianaCare confirmed that is wil be switching to Epic over the next two years.

"As we continually strive to improve the caregiver and patient experience to deliver the best possible care to the communities we serve, the electronic health record is increasingly important to almost everything we do," they said.

"As we look to the future and the tools and technology that will position us to be most successful in delivering innovative, high-quality, affordable, accessible, equitable care to the communities we serve, ChristianaCare has made the decision to transition from Cerner to Epic EHR as the platform of choice across our sites of care. This will be a multi-year implementation project with an expected go-live in early fall 2026."

'Efficiencies of cost'

Another Cerner client, Birmingham, Alabama-based UAB Health System, also announced this past week that it is migrating platforms.

UAB's board approved plans on Sept. 25 to move to Epic, whose market share has been growing, for electronic health record, revenue cycle and clinical research.

"This decision was made after extensive review and will allow for efficiencies of cost, scale and operations that benefit patients and employees/associates," said UAB Health System CEO Dawn Bulgarella in a statement.

The health system said implementing the platform and training staff should be completed in less than two and a half years, with $380 million approved for the project.

'Beyond the EHR'

For its part, Oracle Health recently announced some new customers of its own – with a pair of critical access hospitals selecting its CommunityWorks EHR for their clinical, financial and operational needs.

Idaho's Shoshone Medical Center, a 25-bed hospital, will use CommunityWorks to help combine and organize patient and financial data and enhance the care experience, the company says. And Arkansas-based Eureka Springs Hospital, a seven-bed designated Rural Health Emergency hospital, says its new unified EHR will boost care coordination and enhance patient safety.

"The momentum we’ve seen with hospitals selecting CommunityWorks is a testament to Oracle Health’s ability to solve today’s critical business and healthcare challenges for customers of all sizes," said Seema Verma, general manager, Oracle Health and Life Sciences in a statement.

"Whether a doctor or nurse is providing emergency care in a rural community or focusing on specialty care like heart, rehabilitation, or outpatient surgery, Oracle delivers technology that helps reduce operational complexity and makes it easier to provide care.”

Oracle has made other applications available to CommunityWorks customers, such the AI-enabled Clinical Digital Assistant, the RevElate accounting tool and Seamless Exchange care coordination technology.

But the company, which will be holding its Oracle Health Summit in Nashville Oct. 28-30, is already looking to an era beyond the electronic health record.

In a Sept. 24 blog post, Verma asserted that "we must change the EHR, beyond bolting on temporary solutions." Too many EHRs "weren’t built with clinician workflow in mind" but instead to "maximize revenue cycle management."

Health records have moved "out of the filing cabinet and into the clinician’s computer," but they're still not delivering for providers or patients, she said. Worse, they're contributing to burden and burnout, she said.

With Oracle's "databases, cloud technology, cybersecurity, AI and enterprise solutions, we will bring more than an EHR point solution," said Verma, promising to showcase at the summit "how a reimagined EHR and an interconnected industry can transform healthcare and life sciences for the betterment of all."

Mike Miliard is executive editor of Healthcare IT News
Email the writer: mike.miliard@himssmedia.com
Healthcare IT News is a HIMSS publication.