Epic launched a functionality dubbed "One Virtual System Worldwide" to enable healthcare organizations on the Epic EHR to integrate patient data, the EHR vendor announced Jan. 30.
The three parts of One Virtual System Worldwide include functions called "Come Together," "Happy Together" and "Working Together."
1. The Come Together functionality allows Epic to find health records for individual patients across various organizations — including Epic clients, hospitals on other EHRs and the government — to bring their data together.
2. The Happy Together functionality presents the combined patient data in a single merged format. Physicians will be able to view this health record to assess potential gaps in patient care or medication problems, and patients will be able to view the single record in their MyChart patient portal.
3. The Working Together functionality encourages organizations to collaborate with one another. Schedulers referring a patient to another Epic customer will be able to directly book the appointment in that system, and physicians will be able to send direct messages to colleagues at other organizations, among other capabilities.
"Over the last decade we expanded the amount of data that customers can exchange, going well beyond industry requirements. Now, our new functionality 'Working Together' will allow clinicians to work across Epic organizations to improve the care for their patients," said Dave Fuhrmann, vice president of interoperability at Epic.