Epic: Pricing, Reviews, and Alternatives
Epic is a do-it-all electronic health records system that's all about making healthcare tasks simpler. Whether it's keeping track of patient records, smoothing out hospital admissions, updating how medical practices work, or sorting out health plans, Epic does it all. In this article, we'll share the key facts you need to know about Epic to help you make an informed decision on the right EMR for you.
How much does Epic cost?
Epic doesn't list their prices online, so if you want the specifics, you can email them at info@epic.com to find out. But, drawing from what's generally known in the industry, we can give you a rough idea of what it might cost:
Hospitals
- Small Hospitals (up to 100 beds): Estimated Cost: $1.5 - $2.5 million initial setup, plus $500,000 - $800,000 annually for maintenance and support.
- Medium Hospitals (100 - 500 beds): Estimated Cost: $2.5 - $10 million initial setup, plus $800,000 - $1.5 million annually.
- Large Hospitals (over 500 beds): Estimated Cost: $10 - $30 million initial setup, plus $1.5 - $3 million annually.
Specialty Groups and Clinics
- Small Clinics (1-10 providers): Estimated Cost: $200,000 - $500,000 initial setup, plus $100,000 - $250,000 annually.
- Medium Specialty Groups (10-50 providers): Estimated Cost: $500,000 - $2 million initial setup, plus $250,000 - $600,000 annually.
- Large Specialty Groups (over 50 providers): Estimated Cost: $2 - $5 million initial setup, plus $600,000 - $1.2 million annually.
Primary care practices
- Small Practices (1-3 providers): Estimated Cost: $100,000 - $300,000 initial setup, plus $50,000 - $150,000 annually.
- Medium Practices (4-10 providers): Estimated Cost: $300,000 - $700,000 initial setup, plus $150,000 - $300,000 annually.
- Large Practices (over 10 providers): Estimated Cost: $700,000 - $2 million initial setup, plus $300,000 - $600,000 annually.
Note that these estimates may vary depending on customization, contract terms, volume discounts, ongoing costs, and financial assistance availability.
Benefits and differentiators
While Epic has many applications, three key areas are especially noteworthy:
- Interoperability: Epic's interoperability solutions, such as Interconnect and Care Everywhere, are highly regarded. Care Everywhere, for instance, allows for seamless sharing of patient records across different healthcare systems, even those not using Epic, which is a level of interoperability that not all EMR systems offer.
- Patient engagement features: Epic's patient portal, MyChart, is a significant feature that enhances patient engagement. It allows patients to access their health records, communicate with their healthcare providers, schedule appointments, and manage prescriptions online.
- Proprietary database: Epic's Cosmos is a massive database that collects de-identified patient data from across all Epic systems. This allows for large-scale data analysis and research, contributing to improved patient outcomes and healthcare insights on a scale that is distinctive in the EMR industry.
Scenarios where Epic is a good choice
Epic EMR stands out in several scenarios. It's particularly effective in large hospitals and health systems where a comprehensive, integrated EMR system is needed to manage complex operations and cater to a large patient base. For multi-specialty practices, Epic's integration across various functions and departments proves highly beneficial. Moreover, healthcare organizations that focus on data-driven decision-making and research will greatly appreciate Epic’s advanced analytics and reporting features.
Scenarios where Epic may not be a good choice
For small practices operating on tight budgets, the high cost of Epic can be a major hurdle. These smaller setups often find that Epic's price tag doesn't align with their financial constraints. Additionally, healthcare organizations with simple workflows, which don't demand a lot of customizations, might see Epic's complexity as more of a burden than a benefit. It can be overwhelming for those who need just the basics. Then there are those organizations that need to get their EMR up and running quickly. For them, Epic's lengthy deployment process could be a deal-breaker.
While Epic's extensive features and inter-departmental connectivity are great for large hospitals, its scale and complexity might not be the best fit for smaller clinics or places looking for something more straightforward and faster to implement.
Reviews of Epic
Users on G2 have given Epic an overall rating of 4.2 out of 5. Below, we’ve summarized some of their key pros and cons of the platform.
Positives in Epic's Reviews
- Ease of Customization and Integration: Users appreciate Epic's ability to customize charting features and integrate patient information from various sources, enhancing the care coordination process.
- User-Friendly Interface: Several users noted Epic's user-friendly interface, with some mentioning its intuitiveness and ease of navigation, even for first-time users.
- Comprehensive Healthcare Management: Epic's suite of applications covers a wide range of healthcare management aspects, from patient care to hospital administration, which users find useful.
Negatives in Epic's Reviews
- Complexity and Learning Curve: Some users pointed out that Epic's complexity and extensive features can make it relatively difficult to learn and navigate, particularly for new users.
- Cost and Resource Intensiveness: A few reviews highlighted that implementing and maintaining Epic can be resource-intensive, requiring substantial internal employee involvement and training.
- Integration with Specific Tools: Some users expressed the need for better integration with certain external tools like Syngo and Ambria.
Alternatives to Epic
If Epic isn't quite what you need, we've got you covered with some other EMR choices. Check out these four recommendations for different scenarios:
Small Practices with Limited Budgets:
- Practice Fusion: A cloud-based, affordable EMR solution with a user-friendly interface and essential features for small practices.
- Kareo: A cost-effective, easy-to-use EMR system designed specifically for small practices, offering customizable templates and integrated billing.
Organizations with Simple Workflows:
- DrChrono: A user-friendly, iPad-based EMR system with a streamlined interface and customizable templates for various specialties.
- SimplePractice: A straightforward, cloud-based EMR solution with essential features for small practices and solo providers, including scheduling and billing.
Quick Implementation Requirements:
- Athenahealth: A cloud-based EMR system with a quick implementation process, offering a wide range of features and specialty-specific templates.
- Greenway Health: A flexible EMR solution with a fast deployment process, providing essential features like appointment scheduling and clinical documentation.
How you can use Tennr to get the most out of your EMR.
At Tennr, we recognize the challenges that come with using an EMR like Epic. We’re here to offer a helping hand. While we’re not an EMR ourselves, we specialize in integrating with them to automate the repetitive tasks that slow down operational teams and your business. Our aim is to streamline your processes, making things a bit smoother so you can concentrate more on patient care.
Opportunities for automating EMR tasks
Here are a couple of places in Epic where bringing in Tennr could really help. Check out Tennr and sign up today to explore how we can help you!
Inbound Referrals:
We can streamline how you handle incoming referrals in Epic. It uses AI to pull patient details and then RPA (robotic process automation) to set up new patient profiles and book appointments. This not only saves time but also cuts down on those tedious data entry mistakes. Here’s a quick demo of how we do this at Tennr! 👇🏾
Explanation of Benefits (EOB) Processing:
We also simplify the process of managing incoming EOB (Explanation of Benefits) documents in Epic. It efficiently identifies essential information, such as claim numbers and CPT codes, and seamlessly integrates these payments into the EMR. This enables quicker processing and reduces concerns about inaccuracies in payment details.
Patient scheduling
Small to mid sized healthcare providers often struggle with managing unstructured external referrals, while larger ones grapple with patient scheduling inefficiencies, especially for follow-up procedures. Tennr addresses this by automating the process using patient demographics. For instance, it sends casual messages with booking links to younger patients and morning calls to older ones, effectively reducing friction and enhancing patient engagement for streamlined scheduling.