Epic

What is epic

Epic is an enterprise electronic health record (EHR) and health information technology platform used by hospitals, health systems, and large ambulatory practices. The platform centralizes clinical workflows, patient records, scheduling, billing, reporting, and patient engagement tools under a single vendor-managed architecture. Epic is deployed on-premises or in hosted/private cloud configurations and is designed for multi-hospital networks and large outpatient organizations that require deep clinical functionality and centralized control.

Epic’s product family spans core clinical EHR modules, revenue cycle and billing systems, patient-facing portals, and analytics. The vendor emphasizes interoperability through standards such as HL7, FHIR, and Direct messaging, and supports integration with medical devices and third-party clinical systems. Epic also operates an app marketplace and developer program to extend functionality via vetted third-party applications.

Organizations typically select Epic when they need a single integrated source of truth for patient records across care settings, want vendor-supported configuration and upgrades, and require enterprise-grade security and compliance features. Epic’s installed base includes large academic medical centers, integrated delivery networks, and national healthcare systems.

Epic features

What does epic do?

Epic provides a full suite of clinical and administrative modules that cover the lifecycle of patient care and health system operations. Core capabilities include ambulatory and inpatient charting, computerized provider order entry (CPOE), medication management, nursing documentation, clinical decision support, and specialty-specific workflows (oncology, behavioral health, cardiac care, etc.).

On the administrative side, Epic supplies scheduling and patient access, integrated revenue cycle management, claims processing, eligibility verification, and denial management. The platform’s patient-facing services include the MyChart patient portal, telehealth video visits, appointment reminders, and secure messaging. These features are designed to reduce fragmentation between clinical care and administrative billing.

Epic also provides analytics and population health tools for quality measurement, risk stratification, registry management, and reporting to regulators and payers. Data warehousing and reporting modules support operational dashboards and ad-hoc analytics for clinical leaders and revenue teams.

Finally, Epic’s interoperability features enable data exchange with external providers, labs, imaging centers, and public health registries. Integration support includes HL7 v2, CDA/CCD, SMART on FHIR, Epic’s own FHIR endpoints, and direct interfaces for devices and imaging systems.

Epic pricing

Epic offers customized licensing and implementation pricing:

• Enterprise licensing and implementation: Pricing is negotiated and depends on the number of hospitals, ambulatory clinicians, modules selected, required interfaces, and scope of implementation
• Maintenance and support: Typically a percentage of license and implementation costs, quoted per contract
• Hosting or cloud services: Additional, quoted per deployment and infrastructure choices

Because Epic’s contracts are customized for each organization, the vendor does not publish standard retail price tiers. For indicative budgeting, large health systems should expect multi-year contracts that include license fees, professional services for implementation, training costs, and annual support fees. Check Epic’s overview of their products and contracting approach on Epic’s official software and services pages (https://www.epic.com/software) for more details on packaging and deployment.

How much is epic per month

Epic pricing is custom and typically does not have a published monthly rate. When organizations amortize large multi-year contracts, internal finance teams commonly calculate equivalent monthly figures for budgeting. For a medium-to-large hospital deployment, organizations often plan for monthly effective costs that range from several thousand dollars to tens of thousands of dollars depending on scale, ongoing hosting, and support agreements.

How much is epic per year

Epic licensing, maintenance, and support commonly amount to hundreds of thousands to multiple millions of dollars per year for large hospitals and integrated delivery networks, depending on the number of licensed providers, modules in use, and whether hosting or managed services are included. Annual recurring support is typically a fixed percentage of the negotiated license and implementation fees and is included in contract terms.

How much is epic in general

Epic pricing ranges from a lower bound of approximately mid-six-figures to multi-million-dollar and multi-million-per-year engagements for very large health systems. Total cost of ownership includes initial licenses, implementation professional services (configuration, data migration, testing), hardware or hosting, training, and annual support. Organizations planning an Epic implementation should obtain a formal proposal from Epic and factor in multi-year implementation timelines and internal change management costs.

Check Epic’s product descriptions and deployment guidance on Epic’s software pages (https://www.epic.com/software) to connect with sales for firm pricing and contracting details.

What is epic used for

Epic is used to document and coordinate patient care across care settings while supporting the administrative and financial operations of a health system. Clinicians use Epic for charting history and physicals, viewing past notes and results, placing orders for labs and medications, and recording clinical assessments and procedures. The integrated record ensures clinicians at different sites see the same problem lists, medications, and allergies.

Health system administrators use Epic to manage scheduling, patient throughput, revenue cycle operations, and regulatory reporting. Epic’s billing and claims modules are designed to interface with payers, automate charge capture, and manage denials. This reduces the need for disparate billing systems and supports unified financial reporting.

Population health teams and quality managers use Epic to define registries, track quality measures, identify care gaps, and manage outreach workflows. Epic’s analytics and reporting tools allow organizations to run performance dashboards, monitor compliance, and report required metrics to government programs and payers.

Patients interact with Epic through MyChart for appointment booking, messaging with care teams, viewing test results, paying bills, and participating in telehealth visits. These patient-facing tools aim to streamline patient access and reduce administrative friction.

Pros and cons of epic

Pros:

• Epic provides a deeply integrated EHR that reduces fragmentation between inpatient and outpatient records, supporting continuity of care across large organizations.
• The system includes extensive specialty modules and configurable workflows tailored to complex clinical settings such as academic medical centers and specialty clinics.
• Epic invests in interoperability standards, including FHIR APIs and participation in national health information exchange initiatives, enabling data exchange with external partners.

Cons:

• Epic implementations are complex and resource-intensive; deployments can take 12–36 months or longer and require significant internal project governance and funding.
• Upfront and ongoing costs can be substantial, making Epic more suitable for larger health systems; smaller practices may find the scale and cost prohibitive.
• Customization and tightly integrated configurations can make upgrades and cross-vendor integration planning more involved, requiring careful change management and vendor coordination.

Operational considerations:

• Governance and training are critical to successful Epic rollouts; organizations that invest in clinician training and build internal super-user networks report smoother transitions.
• Vendor lock-in and dependency on Epic’s upgrade cadence are important governance topics; health systems should plan upgrade windows and testing resources as part of the long-term IT roadmap.

Epic free trial

Epic does not offer a public, self-serve free trial of its enterprise EHR. Evaluating Epic typically involves formal vendor engagements, product demonstrations, reference site visits, and pilot deployments under contract. Prospective customers can request product demonstrations and speak to existing Epic customers to understand workflow and feature coverage.

For third-party developers, Epic provides the App Orchard developer program where partners can access sandbox environments and test against Epic’s APIs after joining the program. Developers can request trial API keys and sandbox data through App Orchard to build and validate integrations before going live.

Because Epic deploys in clinical environments with protected health information (PHI), vendor-supplied sandboxes and test environments are controlled and provided through contractually governed channels rather than an unrestricted free trial.

Is epic free

No, Epic is not free for healthcare organizations. Epic is a commercial enterprise EHR with licensing, implementation, and support fees that are negotiated with each customer. Third-party developers and vendors can access development and testing resources via Epic’s App Orchard, which has its own enrollment and costs.

Epic API

Epic provides an API ecosystem built on modern interoperability standards as well as legacy interfaces. The vendor supports SMART on FHIR and FHIR-based REST APIs for clinical data access, which allow authorized third-party apps to read and write patient data using standard resources (Patient, Observation, Condition, MedicationRequest, etc.). Epic’s FHIR endpoints expose clinical and scheduling data for apps that integrate with the clinician workflow or patient portal.

Beyond FHIR, Epic supports HL7 v2 interfaces, CDA documents, CCD/C-CDA exchange, and direct messaging for document transfer. For bulk data export and population health use cases, Epic supports bulk FHIR data and custom extract services to populate analytics warehouses. Device integrations are supported via standard protocols and interface engines.

Epic manages developer access through the App Orchard program, which offers API documentation, sandbox access, commercial partnership pathways, and a marketplace for certified apps. App Orchard provides SDKs, test data, and deployment guidance for integrating third-party apps into Epic’s workflows. Learn more about developer access and the partner program on Epic’s App Orchard pages (https://apporchard.epic.com).

10 Epic alternatives

• Cerner — Large-scale EHR and health IT suite for hospitals and ambulatory care with strong interoperability and national footprint.
• Allscripts — EHR and practice management systems for ambulatory and acute care with flexible deployment options.
• MEDITECH — Integrated EHR focused on community hospitals and health systems with a long history in acute care.
• Athenahealth — Cloud-native ambulatory EHR and revenue cycle services targeted at independent practices and small health systems.
• NextGen Healthcare — Ambulatory-focused EHR and practice management suite with specialty workflows and RCM services.
• eClinicalWorks — Cloud-based EHR with ambulatory and population health functionality and integrated patient engagement.
• GE Healthcare (Centricity) — EHR and imaging integrations for hospitals and health systems, historically strong in imaging workflows.
• McKesson (Paragon) — Acute care and ambulatory solutions for hospitals, with strong revenue cycle presence.
• Infor Healthcare — Health system-focused administrative and clinical software with enterprise resource planning integrations.
• Oracle Cerner Cloud — Cloud-forward delivery of Cerner’s EHR capabilities for large health systems (marketed as the cloud option from Cerner/Oracle).

Paid alternatives to Epic

• Cerner: Comprehensive EHR suite with inpatient and ambulatory modules, strong analytics, and national deployment footprint. Cerner offers on-premises and cloud options and targets large hospitals and integrated delivery networks.
• Allscripts: Offers both ambulatory and acute care EHRs along with revenue cycle services and patient engagement products. Provides configurable implementations for different practice sizes.
• MEDITECH: Focused on community hospitals with modular EHR offerings that balance functionality and cost for mid-size facilities. Known for integrated workflow and clinical documentation tools.
• athenahealth: Cloud-native platform focused on ambulatory EHR, billing services, and practice management with a subscription pricing model aimed at independent practices and physician groups.
• eClinicalWorks: Cloud/hosted EHR with strong ambulatory feature sets and population health capabilities; includes patient engagement and telehealth services.

Open source alternatives to Epic

• OpenMRS: Open-source medical record system widely used in global health programs and adaptable to low-resource environments. Strong developer community and modular architecture.
• OpenEMR: Fully open-source EHR and practice management system with scheduling, prescription, and billing modules; suitable for small clinics and developer-led deployments.
• GNU Health: Open-source health and hospital information system with clinical and public health modules; used in research and low-resource implementations.
• Oscar EMR: Open-source EHR used primarily in Canada, with strong primary care and ambulatory features and community-driven development.

Frequently asked questions about Epic

What is Epic used for?

Epic is used for clinical documentation, patient scheduling, billing, and population health management. Healthcare organizations use Epic to maintain a single integrated patient record across inpatient and outpatient settings, manage revenue cycle processes, and deliver patient-facing services like MyChart. It supports specialty-specific workflows and enterprise analytics.

Does Epic integrate with other vendor systems?

Yes, Epic supports a wide range of integration standards including HL7, FHIR, and SMART on FHIR. Hospitals routinely integrate Epic with lab systems, imaging, device data, and payer systems. Integration is typically implemented via interfaces, API endpoints, and Epic’s partner programs.

How much does Epic cost per provider?

Epic pricing is negotiated and varies by organization, so there is no single published per-provider price. Costs depend on the modules licensed, the number of providers, implementation complexity, and support arrangements; organizations obtain firm quotes from Epic during procurement.

Is there a free trial of Epic?

No, Epic does not provide a public free trial for its enterprise EHR. Prospective customers evaluate Epic using demos, reference site visits, and contractual pilot arrangements, while developers can access sandbox environments via the App Orchard program.

Can Epic be hosted in the cloud?

Yes, Epic supports on-premises and hosted deployment models, including vendor-managed private cloud options. Deployment choice depends on customer preferences for control, compliance, and infrastructure; Epic works with customers to design hosting and disaster recovery solutions.

Does Epic offer patient portal functionality?

Yes, Epic provides the MyChart patient portal for appointment scheduling, messaging, test results, and bill payment. MyChart is widely used by health systems to give patients secure access to their records and to support telehealth and online intake forms.

What developer programs does Epic offer?

Epic runs the App Orchard developer program for third-party application integration. App Orchard provides API documentation, sandbox access, certification processes, and a commercial marketplace for apps that integrate with Epic systems.

How secure is Epic?

Epic implements enterprise security controls and complies with healthcare security standards. The platform supports encryption in transit, role-based access control, audit logging, and features required for HIPAA compliance; specific certifications and controls are provided as part of customer contracts and security documentation.

Can Epic export data for analytics?

Yes, Epic supports data export and reporting through built-in analytics, data warehouses, and bulk FHIR/Bulk Data extract options. Organizations use Epic’s reporting tools or extract data to external analytics platforms for population health, research, and operational dashboards.

How long does an Epic implementation take?

Epic implementations commonly take 12–36 months depending on scope and scale. Timelines vary with the number of facilities, complexity of specialty workflows, data migration volumes, and the organization’s internal resources for training and change management.

epic careers

Epic employs clinical informaticists, software engineers, implementation consultants, and support staff. The company is known for hiring a mix of technical and clinical talent and for intensive training programs for new employees. Job seekers often find roles in software development, technical services, clinical implementation, and customer support.

Epic lists openings and provides details on hiring processes and benefits via the Epic careers page (https://www.epic.com/careers). Working at Epic often involves customer site travel for implementation consultants and long-term engagement with health system clients.

epic affiliate

Epic does not operate a public affiliate marketing program for general resellers. Instead, Epic partners with healthcare technology vendors and independent software vendors through the App Orchard partner program and formal partnership agreements. App Orchard is the primary route for commercial and technical partnership, providing a marketplace and commercial pathways for third-party apps (https://apporchard.epic.com).

Where to find epic reviews

Independent evaluations of Epic can be found in industry research and peer-review publications, including analyst reports from KLAS Research and Gartner, as well as case studies and testimonials published by health systems that use Epic. Health IT conferences, peer hospital networks, and clinical informatics forums are also useful sources for firsthand implementation experience.

For vendor-provided case studies, see Epic’s customer stories and product pages on Epic’s official site (https://www.epic.com). Independent reports and rankings are available from KLAS Research and health IT industry analysts for comparative performance and customer satisfaction metrics.