Epic Community Connect
Epic Community Connect is a shared EHR model from Epic Systems that enables smaller healthcare organizations to access a full Epic deployment by partnering with a larger “host” institution. Rather than bearing the cost, infrastructure, and staffing burdens of an independent Electronic Health Record (EHR) implementation, these partner organizations connect to the host’s Epic instance under a multi-tenant architecture. Through this arrangement, partner sites gain access to the same clinical documentation, scheduling, billing, referral, and healthcare data exchange tools used by the host health system.
The impetus for Epic Community Connect stems from a longstanding challenge in healthcare: many smaller community providers lack the resources for a standalone EHR implementation, yet they still need robust tools for data sharing, care coordination, and compliance. Historically, EHR adoption and health information exchange (HIE) have skewed toward large health systems, leaving smaller providers disconnected. By extending Epic’s EHR sharing model to independent practices, Community Connect bridges that gap, offering Epic cost savings for community healthcare organizations while improving data interoperability and enabling coordinated patient care in areas that sorely need it.
Epic Community Connect serves a range of smaller or mid-size healthcare organizations: independent physician practices, community hospitals, rural clinics, and specialty practices that may otherwise be unable to invest in a full Epic infrastructure. For these organizations, this model offers substantial benefits: access to a comprehensive EHR without full infrastructure investment, improved data sharing and continuity of care, elimination of duplicate tests, and streamlined workflows — from scheduling and documentation to billing and referrals. For host institutions, the model enables an expansion of their referral network, better population-health management, and optimized resource utilization across a broader community.
Implementing Community Connect also demands careful attention to governance, technical readiness, and change management. Shared hosting requires host organizations to maintain high-availability infrastructure, manage user identity and access controls, and ensure compliance with privacy regulations such as HIPAA. Partner organizations must often re-architect workflows and commit to Epic training and support — roles that sometimes fall largely on the host’s IT team or consulting firms. The host and partner must agree on data-sharing agreements, support levels, and division of responsibilities. Without this clarity, the promise of more affordable Epic tools access can be undermined by poor adoption, unresolved technical issues, or mismatches in expectations.
Imprivata’s healthcare solutions and Epic EHR integration can help smaller organizations maximize the ROI of Epic Community Connect. By integrating secure access management tools that support interoperability and data-sharing workflows, Imprivata can help community providers meet compliance requirements, streamline clinical workflows, and protect sensitive patient data — enabling them to leverage Epic’s full capabilities without compromising security or operational efficiency.