New Hyde Park, N.Y.-based Northwell Health has developed a firearm safety screening tool that is now available to health systems nationwide through Epic.
The tool was integrated into Epic’s May 2026 software release, allowing Epic customers to adopt Northwell’s firearm injury risk screening approach and prevention interventions within their existing clinical workflows.
According to a June 1 news release, the tool was developed through the health system’s National Institutes of Health-funded “We Ask Everyone” research study and has been used to screen more than 100,000 emergency department patients, including pediatric patients, across Northwell’s 28-hospital network since 2020.
The screening tool evaluates firearm access and violence risk and enables clinicians to identify patients at risk for firearm injury, refer them to hospital-based violence intervention programs, provide gun locks to patients with identified risks and collect standardized data to support firearm injury prevention research, according to the release.
To support implementation, Epic has published a white paper describing Northwell’s screening methodology and guidance for launching firearm injury prevention programs through the EHR.
Northwell established its Center for Gun Violence Prevention in 2020. The center focuses on clinical care, support services, research and firearm injury prevention initiatives.
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