Pinehurst, N.C.-based FirstHealth of the Carolinas completed its conversion to Epic information systems technology on July 1.
The conversion process began more than three years ago, and now, the health system's hospitals, clinics and specialty services are live on Epic systems. Rather than stagger the implementation and conduct individual go-lives, the entire health system transitioned to the new system concurrently.
"This approach allowed us to rally resources and focus on one massive effort rather than months or even years of transition and dual processes," said FirstHealth CEO David J. Kilarski. "The obvious challenge with this approach was the overall magnitude of change that would impact almost every FirstHealth physician, employee and volunteer at the same time."
More than 5,000 FirstHealth physicians, staff and volunteers underwent Epic IT training over the last 18 months.
Additionally, most healthcare facilities in North Carolina use Epic's technology platforms, allowing FirstHealth providers and staff to share patient data across the state.