New EHR installations may require new laboratory information system upgrades and interfaces
Electronic health record (EHR) systems continue to be one of the costliest investments healthcare providers can make. And the company that holds the largest portion of the EHR market is Epic, with anywhere from 36% to 44%, according to various published reports and research briefs.
Healthcare executives remorseful about the cost of their hospital’s EHR may take solace in Becker’s Health IT’s recent list of the “most expensive” Epic EHR installations. It is common for the largest projects to cross the $1 billion mark.
Clinical laboratory leaders tasked with interfacing their hospital’s laboratory information system (LIS) with their healthcare system’s EHR may find the following information useful. The investment in time begins months before the actual EHR implementation.
One example is Lake Charles Memorial Health System (LCMHS) Lake Charles, La. In a blog post, the health system reported that it took 18 months for its physicians, clinicians, and staff to prepare for the installation of their new Epic MyChart EHR.
“There are lots of things we wish our customers would do to make sure their system runs well. Making sure every user is trained, for example. Putting in upgrades quickly. Making sure that the hardware runs fast enough,” wrote Judy Faulkner, Epic founder and CEO, in an Epic blog post.
“The LCMHS staff and physicians have championed this project from the beginning, and I have them to thank for the success of this EMR transition and look forward to seeing the positive impacts as we settle into the operational changes and new experiences Epic brings Lake Charles Memorial Health System and those we serve,” said Devon Hyde (above), President and CEO of Lake Charles Memorial Health System, about the provider’s transition to a new Epic MyChart EHR. (Photo copyright: Lake Charles Memorial Health System.)
Top 10 Most Expensive Epic EHR Installs of 2024
While Becker’s noted that the following compilation is “not an exhaustive list,” here’s its list of the top 10 most expensive Epic EHR projects based on publicly available sources.
- Northwell Health, New Hyde Park, N.Y.: $1.2 billion
- Trinity Health, Livonia, Mich.: $800 million
- AdventHealth, Altamonte Springs, Fla.: $660 million
- Memorial Hermann Health System, Houston: $500 million
- UAB Health System, Birmingham, Ala.: $380 million
- Broward Health, Fort Lauderdale, Fla.: $250 million
- Wellstar Health System, Marietta, Ga.: $175 million
- Health First, Rockledge, Fla.: $160 million
- Sarasota Memorial Health Care System, Sarasota, Fla.: $160 million
- MultiCare Health System, Tacoma, Wash.: $50 million
Largest Epic EHR Projects Ever
Beyond 2024, here are the “largest Epic EHR projects of all time,” Becker’s Health IT reported separately based on publicly available sources:
- Kaiser Permanente, Oakland, Calif: $4 billion
- Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn.: $1.5 billion
- Mass General Brigham, Somerville, Mass.: $1.2 billion
- Northwell Health, New Hyde Park, N.Y.: $1.2 billion
- NYC Health and Hospitals, New York, N.Y.: $1 billion
- Sutter Health, Sacramento, Calif.: $1 billion
- New York-Presbyterian, New York, N.Y.: $964 million
- Providence, Renton, Wash.: $800 million
- Trinity Health, Livonia, Mich.: $800 million
- Duke University Health, Durham, N.C.: $700 million
- UMass Memorial Health, Worcester, Mass.: $700 million
Training Key for New EHR: Report
According to a report by research firm KLAS titled, “EHR Implementations 2025: Investing in People to Avoid Pitfalls and Ensure Clinical Success,” in addition to the “tremendous financial undertaking,” healthcare organizations also face implementation challenges following EHR installations.
KLAS reported that among the healthcare leaders KLAS interviewed:
- 27% had “an above-average EHR post-implementation” likely due to “providing technological foundation needed” at go-live, while,
- 40% said implementation of the EHR “had significant misses” and,
- 22% reported “average satisfaction with room for improvement.”
Providing staff with adequate training may smooth the way for new EHRs, according to the KLAS report. “Often, leaders wish they had invested in more training time and workflow-specific training in the context of patient care,” the authors wrote.
New EHR May Mean New LIS
Pathologists and clinical laboratory leaders may need to transition the laboratory information system (LIS) when the healthcare organization moves to a new EHR. At the very least, new interfaces will be required.
While a new EHR and LIS requires significant investments, they also provide opportunities for needed upgrades, competitive advantage, and security.
—Donna Marie Pocius