The Green Mountain Care Board, a government program tasked with reducing the rate of healthcare cost growth in Vermont, approved the implementation of an Epic EHR at four hospitals affiliated with Burlington-based University of Vermont Health Network, the health system confirmed Jan. 8.
Here are four things to know about the decision.
1. The Epic EHR is expected to cost $151.7 million during the course of a six-year implementation period.
2. UVM Health Network officials said replacing and maintaining the health system's disparate legacy systems — at an estimated $200 million — would be more expensive than installing the Epic EHR.
3. While the Epic EHR will initially only roll out to four of the health system's six hospitals, officials expect UVM Health Network's other facilities to go live on the EHR at a later date.
4. Officials who testified in front of the Green Mountain Care Board Nov. 6 said UVM Health Network's flagship hospital, Burlington-based UVM Medical Center, would pay the majority of the implementation costs.