Better Care Coordination with One Patient Story

November 19, 2018

UNC Health Care brings all of a patient’s information together with Epic

When a patient in North Carolina receives a test such as an HbA1c at a retail clinic or local physician practice, she doesn’t need to track that care on her own in case she’s hospitalized or referred to a specialist. At UNC Health Care, that test is pulled from any Epic EHR into a single, unified Epic chart.

With Epic’s Happy Together design and integration with state information exchange NC HealthConnex, UNC Health Care puts a complete picture of each patient’s care at providers’ fingertips. This information helps providers make the most informed decisions and avoid duplicative tests and procedures. As of January 2018, for example, 12% of all HbA1c tests for UNC patients are completed with external data.

“We know that many patients receive care scattered across multiple providers and health systems,” says Robb Malone, UNC Health Care’s VP of practice quality, innovation, and population health services. “The availability of A1c data from multiple health systems is a great example… providers can coordinate care more proactively and ensure we meet the needs of our patients based on their full clinical history.”