Boone, N.C.-based UNC Health Appalachian has posted its first positive operating margin in about a decade, reversing a projected $45 million loss in part due to a new Epic EHR.
President and CEO Nathan Nipper credited the turnaround to workforce reductions, the closure of a wellness center and Epic, the EHR implemented through the three-hospital system’s 2022 partnership with Chapel Hill, N.C.-based UNC Health. The EHR improved the organization’s revenue cycle and patient flow operations, Epic posted in a Sept. 21 news release.
“Our electronic medical record provides visibility into information that we didn’t really have before,” Mr. Nipper told the Watauga Democrat. He said the system now has better reporting, more organized patient experience processes and improved communication among providers and with patients.
The stronger financial footing comes as UNC Health Appalachian braces for federal cuts that could cost the system about $18 million annually, according to the article.
The Epic rollout, completed in November 2024, made UNC Health Appalachian the 17th hospital supported by UNC Health’s IT infrastructure.
