FastMed Urgent Care is the first urgent care provider to adopt Epic Systems EHR.
FastMed Urgent Care, an urgent care clinic operator, has launched Epic Systems EHR at its 29 Arizona clinics, becoming the first independent urgent care operator to implement the EHR system.
FastMed providers in Arizona can now share patient medical records and patient information with other health organizations and surrounding providers that utilize Epic Systems EHR.
“Urgent care is the front door to healthcare, and with FastMed now integrated with larger healthcare systems, we are able to improve continuity of care and service for our patients,” FastMed CEO Web Golinkin, said in a statement.
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“Our investment in Epic sets FastMed apart in urgent care by enabling us to become part of the larger healthcare ecosystem while enhancing our ability to provide our communities with easy access to high-quality, convenient and affordable healthcare.”
FastMed and HonorHealth, a major health system in Arizona, joined forces to provide enhanced patient care. With both FastMed and HonorHealth using Epic Systems, it boosts the number of care options for urgent care patients, especially when more extensive treatment levels are required. The two organizations’ ability to exchange patient data will help lower costs and increase patient care, said the organization.
FastMed patients will also gain access to Epic’s patient portal, MyChart, giving patients 24-hour access to their health information, online appointment scheduling, secure direct messaging and communication with their care team, and online bill pay. Patients can access the portal via a mobile phone or computer.
FastMed will also implement telehealth and other digital services, while optimizing clinical and business performance through improved data analytics. Epic uses telehealth apps to schedule appointments virtually through MyChart and conduct video visits from the portal.
The patient data access, data sharing, and telehealth access will be essential for FastMed as an urgent care center. These care sites are known for delivering low-acuity care quickly and conveniently outside of a patient’s regular primary care provider.
Facilitating health information exchange and other convenient care options like telehealth will help enhance the patient experience of care and drive care coordination across multiple providers.
“FastMed completed its Epic install in Arizona ahead of schedule while also seeing more patients in their clinics due to the COVID-19 pandemic,” Alan Hutchison, vice president for population health at Epic, said in a statement.
“FastMed’s team has been a pleasure to work with, and we look forward to helping them continue to improve services for patients, collaborate with other care providers in their communities, and set new standards for high-quality, affordable urgent care.”
FastMed said it will implement Epic EHR at its North Carolina and Texas providers in early 2021.
Throughout COVID-19, Epic Systems stepped up and exceeded expectations, according to its customers.
In a July KLAS report, researchers asked healthcare professionals to rate their vendor’s reaction and support to the coronavirus on a nine-point scale. Epic, which was awarded 2020 Best in KLAS, stood above the rest of the EHR vendors, scoring an 8.1.
While Epic customers have high expectations for the vendor, respondents said Epic met or exceeded expectations throughout the past few months.
One respondent who recently migrated to Epic’s system praised the vendor’s automation process.
”We converted our process to use Epic’s system and to use automation to schedule appointments and automatically screen patients before they even get to the center,” an anonymous Epic customer said. “Because of the efficiency we have gained, we have ramped up the number of patients we can see in 22 a day; we went from seeing 300–400 patients with very manual processes to seeing about 1,000 patients with automation.”
Source: EHR Intelligence