Orange, Calif.-based UC Irvine Health went live on UC San Diego Health's cloud-based instance of Epic earlier this month.
The collaboration, which officials announced Nov. 14, marks the first time an Epic EMR has extended from one U.S. academic medical center to another, according to UC San Diego Health officials. The shared EMR platform will integrate medical records from the two academic health systems, doubling their population served.
"By collaborating with UC San Diego, and leveraging its existing infrastructure, we have been able to avoid many of the start-up costs associated with implementing a new EMR application," said Chuck Podesta, CIO of UC Irvine Health.
UC San Diego Health, which implemented its Epic system in August 2005, also shares its EMR with Riverside, Calif.-based UCR Health's clinics and community practice affiliates.
"This groundbreaking collaboration aligns with the broader strategic goals of UC Health to share services and generate efficiencies across campuses through shared implementation and maintenance of technology platforms," said Christopher Longhurst, MD, CIO of UC San Diego Health.