Cerner Vs. Epic – #1 EHR?

Cerner Vs. Epic – Are you interested to find an electronic health records solution for your medical facility? Hospitals face extreme challenges when the EHR system makes wrong decisions.

Although all healthcare IT vendors provide the same type of services, there are a few differences between each system. Let’s compare Cerner Vs. Epic, is 2 of the biggest EMR system.

While Epic serves large hospitals, Cerner owns a good percentage of the market share of hospitals with 100-250 beds.

Differentiate Between Cerner and Epic

Cerner is a more popular option as it caters to small practices, but Epic is not far behind and making serious efforts to appeal to physician practices and smaller hospitals. Here you can read Cerner Reviews. And here you can read Epic Reviews.

Who owns Epic?

“Epic was founded in 1979 by Judith R. Faulkner with a $70,000 investment (equivalent to $240,000 in 2017). Originally headquartered in Madison, Wisconsin, Epic moved its headquarters to a large campus in the suburb of Verona, Wisconsin in 2005, where it employs more than 9,500 people as of January 2016.” Read more here.

Installation and Implementation – Cerner Vs. Epic

When it comes to implementation, neither Cerner nor Epic enjoys a great reputation.  Epic EHR installations cost users millions of dollars, often ending up costing more than expected. But Epic enjoys a slightly better record of being easier to learn and navigate through.

How much does it cost to implement Epic? You can read here the total implementation cost of epic.

With Cerner, users find the task list handy, which makes everything needed to chart available on one list. This means you wouldn’t miss out on documenting something.

Integrations and Interoperability – Cerner Vs. Epic

An EHR is not as effective unless it can be integrated with other technologies and connected to external databases.

Cerner has built three platforms for integration with external systems. This is to ensure a connection with financial, clinical, and operational data.  The vendor is striving to create application program interfaces that will increase interoperability with third-party solutions for healthcare facilities. Contrarily, Epic has been criticized for lack of integrations and dated technology

Additionally, interoperability is a core initiative of Cerner. Interoperability Ticker is a feature on the Cerner website, which tracks pharmacy and clinical transactions and health data exchange. Conversely, Epic offers less interoperability compared with its competitors, though the EHR provider is making strides in this regard.

It is easier to connect Epic to other EHRs via the Direct protocol and vice versa. So its robust connectivity to other electronic health records solutions gives Epic an upper hand over Cerner.

User interface – Cerner Vs. Epic

Healthcare executives seek an improved user interface for increased EHR use.

Though some reports rank Cerner on a higher pedestal than other EHRs in terms of usability, some others complain that its UI is not as intuitive as it is expected to be.

The interface is extremely difficult to navigate, which takes away the user’s focus on patient care. The system is cumbersome, poorly designed, and seriously unintuitive.

Contrarily, Epic enjoys the reputation of being easy to use and quick to implement, making it easier for users to navigate between documents and notes. Once you have got a hang of Epic, the electronic medical records solution is fairly streamlined.

24/7 Customer support

A technical solution is of no value if it does not offer unhindered customer support. Cerner enjoys a great reputation for offering a great support team, which is available 24/7. Its support staff is very helpful, smart, and dedicated to your growth.

Epic offers excellent technical support. However, Cerner gets an edge as the service provider works with you as a partner. This brings in greater efficiency.

Which One To Choose: Epic or Cerner EMR?

Budget

If you have financial constraints and are on a tight budget, you would better opt for Cerner. But for well-off buyers, Epic is quite affordable.

Practice size

Smaller hospitals or private practices opt for Cerner, whereas the larger ones go for Epic.

Remote setup

While Epic runs in-house thus far, you may choose Cerner if you run remote operations. Cerner enjoys a great reputation in the overseas market and has been strong in international sales. The EHR has entered many non-hospital fields as well, including pharmacies and medical devices.

The two vendors are working together with third-party apps to enable patients to access their health records through mobile apps. This will help improve information sharing between apps.

Bottom Line: Which is Better EHR?

Now, what would you want to choose between Epic and Cerner? Before making a final choice, you might want to consider taking a test drive. It will be easier to make a decision once you determine the roads you will be taking with these electronic health records solutions.

It is a good idea to go through the owner’s manual, so you get an idea of the road ahead.  Since you do not want to get unpleasant surprises later, it would help to check out the warranty offered by both EHRs.

You would want to get a clear picture of what’s covered and what’s not. Additionally, you may want to find out what major competitors are using.

If you are still wondering which of the two EHRs would be a better choice for your medical facility, get in touch with the ITQlick experts. Our vast knowledge, huge database, and decade-long experience can help you sail through the sea of confusion and make a wise decision between Epic and Cerner.

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