The Cleveland Clinic is teaming up with Dell to offer Epic EMR consulting and implementation services to other health systems and practices.
The clinic, which has been using Epic for nearly a decade, already consults with nearby healthcare systems and practices through its MyPractice Healthcare Solutions services. Now, with the addition of Dell Healthcare and Life Sciences’ technology infrastructure, it’s planning to scale those services nationwide.
Together the pair will work with physician practices and health systems to plan, implement and customize the Epic EMR system to meet their needs. Customers can install the system on their own servers or use Dell’s cloud-based services to host their data, the duo said in an announcement.
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Under the partnership, announced Monday at HIMSS, Epic would be paid a licensing fee, but providers and health systems would work through Dell and the Cleveland Clinic, Modern Healthcare reported.
It’s not a surprising move for the clinic, which has turned its own expertise into consulting services in other capacities, too. For example, the clinic generates revenue through the Healthcare Innovation Alliance, a seven-member consortium that leverages its commercialization expertise to help other institutions turn their employees’ medical inventions into commercial products.
In the realm of electronic health records, it’s worth noting that the market for first-time buyers is narrowing. Last year, nearly 80 percent of office-based physicians had some kind of electronic health record system installed, according to the National Center for Health Statistics.
But as Stage 2 meaningful use looms, vendors are facing challenges upgrading their products and obtaining certification, and market surveys have suggested some providers are switching vendors. The clinic’s CIO, Dr. Martin Harris, told Modern Healthcare that Stage 2 was a “much steeper climb” that would have facilities thinking about their operations. “It presents the opportunity to have a service to help them get there.”
