If you’ve ever tried to integrate directly with Epic, you know it’s not for the faint of heart. Between vendor approvals, data governance reviews, and the technical lift of wiring a full EHR integration, the process can stretch for months or even years.

And to make things more complicated, integrating with one Epic partner does not mean you’re integrated with Epic everywhere. Each health system runs its own instance of Epic, with its own configuration, its own rules, and its own approval process. You can reuse some foundations, but in practice, every new Epic partner means starting again. One Epic integration is exactly that… one.

The good news is that you don’t have to wait for a full build to start exchanging data in a meaningful way. There are practical, lower-lift pathways that get you partway there… what I call quasi-Epic integrations. They won’t replace a full integration, but they will keep your workflows moving, give your team access to the information they need, and tighten care coordination while you work toward the heavier lift.

Two quick wins:

• EpicCare Link: A secure web portal that lets your team view and share patient charts with Epic-using partners, without ever needing a full API integration. In my experience, setup takes anywhere from five days to two weeks, depending on the health system. Once it is live, it becomes an incredibly reliable way to receive referrals, pull chart notes, and reference recent encounters. You can even route critical events into escalation pools that triage nurses manage and physicians review, which keeps communication tight without adding new systems to your workflow.
• Health Information Networks: Nationwide data exchange networks like CommonWell and Carequality make it possible to share clinical data across EHR systems in a clean, bidirectional way. Several vendors simplify this connection. HealthGorilla, Redox, and Metriport are the big ones. We found Metriport to be the most cost efficient and the easiest to pair with EHRs designed for independent clinicians, like Elation and Canvas. Through these networks, you can pull a patient’s full medical record in multiple formats, refreshed right before an appointment. You can also push data back into Epic’s Care Everywhere ecosystem, including lab results, health progress summaries, and encounter notes. That shared visibility makes it easier for the entire care team to stay aligned.

Both are fast, compliant, and achievable, helping your team act on accurate clinical data today while laying the groundwork for deeper integration tomorrow.