Epic Community Connect: A Strategy for Growth

Forward-thinking health systems are leveraging their EHR investment to support a health network strategy. Epic offers its enterprise customers the ability to extend their Epic EHR to community clinics, hospitals, and other medical groups and provides clinical data integration to support the goal of one patient, one record, one community of care.

Community Connect programs support organizational growth and expansion, positioning the work far beyond the scope of traditional IT projects. The multi-disciplinary approach to launching and sustaining a solid Connect program requires vision and support from the health systems’ strategy and outreach leadership, coupled with collaboration with marketing, finance, legal, communications, privacy, and security.

Participation in the Community Connect program provides the sharing of patient clinical information across many care settings. This makes critical patient information readily available, thereby increasing efficiency, decreasing communication challenges and variability in media formats for clinical data exchange, supporting quality care initiatives, and promoting overall patient care and safety. Financial information, scheduling, and non-critical patient information can be kept confidential across sites. The net effect is a virtual, integrated, clinical delivery system with community hospitals and physicians that increases the health system’s care network.

With the implementation of Epic and foundational EHR applications, health systems have developed a robust engine of astonishing power that helps providers and administrators provide better, safer, more affordable healthcare to the communities served. Done well, Community Connect offers health systems a new platform to increase their community footprint and network of providers and patients, contributing in a significant way to overall growth strategies.

CTG has the leadership experience that is necessary to surround the Connect program and support the strategic nature of the initiative. Health system operational leaders should understand the program, and how it will support the mission and vision of the health system. It’s complex as there are so many competing priorities, however, ensuring the clarity of the outcomes and overall benefits of Community Connect are leadership topics to conquer. Investing in the strategic planning and execution with CTG leadership to guide you through is a worthy decision.

Community Connect: Standing up a Connect Program

Generally, Epic does not market its software solution to small hospitals (<250 beds) or clinics (<100 providers). Fortunately, under the Epic Community Connect program, customers can offer the Epic solution as part of the enterprise license to non-owned care providers across your geography. As an Epic-host, health systems have a valuable asset that has been collectively curated and referred to as your “health system’s build of Epic,” and Community Connect will allow you to wisely mobilize this investment to communities served. Community recipients, and their patients, will benefit from the powerful program and the health network vision will be realized as well.

 Across the customer base, Epic is seeing health systems shift to target larger clinics and hospitals. Epic has developed an accreditation program which is administered annually to ensure the host health system has effective controls and features to both implement and support the customers well. CTG’s team can assist health systems with obtaining Accreditation or Accreditation+ status. Note that Accreditation status must be obtained to work with any hospitals or clinics that are deemed Large Connect (e.g., over 300 beds, large clinics).

Market Approach: Moving Away From Acquisition and Toward Affinity

The business of healthcare is transforming. The recent spate of acquisitions is giving way to affiliations, as the ethos of healthcare becomes less about buying up and more about coming together to improve patient care, clinical advancements, and population health. The change is welcome. As technology puts unimagined magnitudes of intelligence at our fingertips, we are now empowered as caregivers to embrace the power of clinical contact, practice hands-on medicine, and touch the lives of our patients. Community Connect is a powerful solution, taking the power of the EHR into the community to share the wealth of knowledge for improved patient care. 

Health systems’ mission and vision statements reflect on ways of transforming and improving the health of communities through integrated and innovative clinical practice, and Community Connect provides a tangible opportunity to support those foundational goals.

CTG understands how extending your Epic EHR to strategic partners in the community enables the achievement of growth objectives and expands the health network without some of the risks typically associated with buying and owning physician or hospital organizations. Our tools and methodologies span the program life cycle and will support your efforts in rolling out Community Connect.

Business Drivers 

The development of a Community Connect program is motivated by several business needs. A recent survey of Epic customers with Connect programs identified key business drivers, including creation of a community record, improving community physician relationships, satisfying requests from independent providers, and streamlining referral processes. Like the Epic survey, factors galvanizing health systems to introduce and expand its EHR provisioning include the program’s potential to:

• Support the health system’s vision by enabling improvement in patient care and safety, furthering the mission and vision, and serving to integrate and optimize care management across the continuum.
• Strengthen market presence and strategic relationships by amplifying community hospital and physician affinity, increasing patient and provider loyalty and satisfaction by providing an integrated alternative that otherwise would not be accessible for many community hospitals or independent physicians.
• Maximize the value of EHR investments by enabling the development of a shared patient record, expanding opportunities for growth beyond practice/facility acquisition, and promoting ease of access to services for both community healthcare providers and patients.
• Prepare the health system and Connect sites for future care delivery models and market changes.

Program Governance 

One of the key supporting processes is a clear governance process to oversee the program as well as the customer enhancement requests. The governance body should be a cross section of operational areas and will be a chartered group within the health system.

The Community Connect Advisory Council will:  

• Provide ongoing oversight of the program and direction to the program leadership (e.g., donation strategies, accreditation direction, capacity planning)
• Champion the program across the health system 
• Ensure integration of the Community Connect Program and the health system’s EHR/Epic governance
• Offer rapid, inclusive, and iterative decision making 
• Approve capacity planning direction and annual goals 
• Review customer satisfaction metrics and performance goals 
• Escalate issues as appropriate 

Based on the size and maturity of the Connect program, a second structure should be developed to provide oversight and integration of the program operations. Generally, a blend of program leadership with leaders responsible for the implementation, training, support, and ongoing management of the customers. Quality, capacity, and service are generally focused topics that the operations council will address.  

CTG can lead you through the governance modeling process and positioning of the governance structures to ensure they are instrumental in demonstrating that Community Connect customers, and your health system have an avenue to support change management. It’s a long-term relationship between the host health system and the recipient customers, one that needs ongoing focus and collaboration.

contact the CTG Team