An Epic Achievement: One Patient, One Record

Dear Colleagues,

July 1 marked a tremendous milestone for Epic with our last and largest go-live at The Johns Hopkins Hospital. After several years of intense planning and training, Johns Hopkins Medicine has taken the final step toward the creation of "one patient, one record"—a single, integrated health care delivery system at all Johns Hopkins Medicine locations in Maryland and the greater Washington, D.C., region.

Congratulations to everyone at Johns Hopkins Medicine on this tremendous achievement. Without your diligence and dedication, our systemwide transition to Epic would have been impossible. To everyone who helped make this happen, I am sincerely grateful for the long hours that you have spent getting ready for Epic on top of your existing workloads and responsibilities. The time and dedication you have put in is what has made this multiyear implementation a success.

Having one set of records for each of our patients is truly exciting. Epic supports our strategic priorities—helping us to deliver the best possible care to our patients by improving communication and teamwork among our providers and enabling better integration across our enterprise. The new electronic medical record also bolsters quality and safety measures, makes it easier to navigate increasingly complex records, and helps coordinate patient scheduling and registration. Epic also boosts patients' engagement in their own health care through MyChart, the online patient portal that allows them to view portions of their medical records, communicate with providers, and view summaries of their appointments or hospital visits.

Undergoing a major initiative like Epic is no easy task. (Check out this video slideshow that features our employees at work during several of our go-lives at Johns Hopkins Medicine.) We would like to take this moment to recognize your contribution to this important project, and thereby, to our patients.

Sincerely,

Paul B. Rothman, M.D.
Dean of the Medical Faculty
CEO, Johns Hopkins Medicine