Geneseo, IL - Hammond-Henry Hospital’s Board of Directors, Administration, and IT Management are proud to announce that the hospital and its Family Practice/Walk-In Clinics’ Electronic Medical Records (EMR) system is transitioning from Meditech to Epic, a state-of-the-art platform hosted by UnityPoint.
Hammond-Henry Hospital has utilized its current EMR software (Meditech) since 1999, according to Heather Henry, IT Manager. Over time, technological advancements and regulatory requirements in the healthcare industry have demanded more from EMR systems and the hospital’s move to Epic is in response to that need.
“We want to give our patients the best possible care, but in this transition period, we ask for your patience and understanding as our staff continues to learn and adapt to new workflows,” said Wyatt Brieser, CEO. “The decision to move to Epic included the year-long-plus effort of heavily researching EMR companies and determining which would best meet current needs while also helping Hammond-Henry Hospital reach its goals for the future.”
The move to Epic will mean all existing and new HHH patients will have a new patient portal entitled MyChart. MyChart will allow patients to communicate with their care team, schedule and manage appointments (including rehab/therapy services appointments), review medical records (such as immunization history and test results), and view After-Visit Summaries and clinical notes documented by your provider.
Hammond-Henry will continue to contract with the same insurance plans and bill for service independently. It will also continue to work with Magnet Solutions for payment plans and self-pay.
“Epic is used by some of the largest hospital organizations in the country. These vast networks of hospitals have extensive teams of technical support staff and other resources needed to implement and maintain highly complex systems and interfaces,” said Brieser. “Small critical access hospitals, like us, lack these resources. To accommodate small hospitals, a program called ‘Epic Community Connect’ was formed. This program allows larger organizations, UnityPoint Health in our case, to host Epic for a sub-network of smaller hospitals.”
“This doesn’t mean we are now owned by or affiliated with UnityPoint Health. We remain an independent hospital,” he continued. “Even if you see the UnityPoint Health name and logo, please know that Hammond-Henry remains the independent critical access organization that you know and trust.”
Patients’ first couple of visits may take a little longer than usual, and they may be asked for information that was already provided in the past.
“Please realize that communication between you and your care team will be improved because of this move to Epic,” said Brieser. “At the end of every visit, patients will receive an After-Visit Summary via the communication method of your preference. This document will outline your visit from that day, show any future appointments you have scheduled, and list your current medications and any new orders or changes made.
“The After-Visit summary also includes patient instructions from your provider, personalized care recommendations, helpful resources, and contact information,” Brieser added. “We are trying to make this move as easy as possible. We appreciate UnityPoint’s assistance, and we anticipate an even better workflow and dissemination of health information in the very near future.”
Please visit www.hammondhenry.com/about/epic-mychart for more information. The transition to Epic will take place on September 21, 2025.